BEP90 Job Interviews: Talking about Your Greatest Weakness

In this advanced Business English Podcast we continue to look at the language and skills of interviewing for jobs in English.

So far in this series, we’ve examined two common question themes that you will likely be asked in almost any interview. They were, “Tell me about your previous experience?”, and “What is your most significant accomplishment¹?”

In this episode², we will likewise deal with another extremely common question. Unfortunately, it’s almost as challenging to answer as it is popular to ask. It requires you to think about possible problems with your working style and personality, and to give an answer that demonstrates professionalism and the ability to present your weakness as a strength. That’s right, you guessed it, the question is: What’s your greatest weakness?

Talking about your weaknesses tests a unique skill: It investigates your ability to present a drawback³ as an advantage. Thus, the theme of this episode is “be positive”, and that’s the main point that we’ll be focusing on.

Listening Questions – Good Example:
1) What is Sherry’s weakness?
2) Did this weakness affect her GPA (exam scores)? How?
3) Does Sherry explain the positive aspects of the weakness she describes?

1 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

2 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

3 drawback   

n.缺点，欠缺，不利条件

参考例句：

• Everything has its drawback.事事不免有缺点。
• He felt the apartment's only drawback was that it was too small.他觉得这个公寓唯一的缺点就是太小了。