When
interviewing for a
job, it is not uncommon to be asked what you consider to be your
main
weakness professionally. This is a very good
question. Certainly your prospective
employer would like to know in what areas you feel you need
improvement.
However, in a recent interview for a position posted internally at my company, I was
compelled to provide my interviewer with:
- Not one, but THREE of my weaknesses.
- The time during the past year when I have been the most upset with myself.
Now again, ONE weakness is fair, but making your candidate tell you four bad things about
themselves seems like dirty pool to me.
I mean, what a way to make someone crawl, right?
"Well, I guess I was most upset with myself this past year when I accidentally knocked my
oldest boy off the roof while we were repairing the shingles and he went to the hospital in
a coma. As I watched them load him into the ambulance, not knowing if he were alive or dead,
I was overcome with feelings of shame and self-hatred that linger even today. I prayed to
God to kill me where I stood."
"All righty! Now, how would you rate your customer service skills, on a scale of one to
ten?"