Woman warns that writing 'perfectionism' as weakness on CV might backfire in interview process

Interviews can be exciting, tense and even exhausting, depending on the questions raised by the recruiters. However, the most common theme during the whole process is when the interviewer asks about the candidate's weaknesses, and most of them fail to come up with a satisfactory response. To relieve candidates from this tension, a career coach, Sonia Sheechoria–who goes by @levelupwithsonia on TikTok–shared what exactly a hiring manager wants to hear from someone hoping to get shortlisted for their dream job.

The interview expert revealed that recruiters get tired of the same "perfectionist" answer from job aspirants. "If one more client gets on an interview prep call with me and tells me that their weakness is being a perfectionist, I'm going to end the call," Sheechoria humorously pointed out as she started her video. She added that it had been the most predictable response and urged candidates to think of innovative replies. "I can assure you that nearly every hiring manager and HR professional has already heard this response. It's too scripted, and I encourage you to be authentic," she elaborated. Before providing alternatives to the crucial question, Sheechoria emphasized that the "weakness question" was also a tricky one. Through this, HR wanted to know more about the candidate's past experiences, reasoned the full-time recruiter.

"Essentially, management does not want to know your current weaknesses. Instead, they want to hear about the weaknesses you've had in the past during your career," remarked Sheechoria, adding that how you dealt (or are dealing) with it is also important. Following this, the career coach explained how to answer the query in the four most appropriate ways. Notably, the very first aspect is to shed light on the ambiguity when starting a new job and the process adopted to find its solutions.

Sheechoria used to work with academicians, who, according to her, were "visionary people." Moreover, she enjoyed navigating her professors' specific demands. While describing her over four years of professional experience at a post-secondary institution, the expert said, "I worked with many professors and anyone familiar with academics knows that they are not business people. I had a hard time dealing with their visionary approach, whereas I, coming from a business background, am very tactical."

The art of asking questions helped her surpass the "big weakness," which was learning to ask really good quality questions. "I kept digging in with queries until I managed to get down to the tactical of what needs to get done," Sheechoria said. This quality aided her in becoming resourceful, as it inspired her to look in different places to get the right answer. Additionally, the next weakness, as per her, could be having too much compassion.

It is relevant for a frontline worker in industries such as healthcare, policing and firefighting, etc. "These individuals are often placed in highly stressful situations and must also manage other people's issues. Explain that you're working on this skill by setting clear boundaries and having an outlet for discussing these challenges," Sheechoria added. For those working as project managers, she talked about highlighting the difficulty of letting go of projects during the interview. "You can say you're working on this weakness by incorporating dates into your critical path. At these points, you move on to the next stage of the project without revisiting or changing things again." The two-minute-and-forty-second video ended with Sheechoria asking the candidates to reveal their eye for detail.

"Acknowledge that you're being too focused as a weakness because when you're looking to be a leader or someone who wants to assume more strategic roles," Sheechoria added. It is crucial to get a glimpse of the bigger picture by focusing on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), according to the hiring specialist, to get the project done rather than zooming into the nitty-gritty. Sheechoria's explainer sparked a widespread discussion on the platform, with people sharing their weaknesses in the comments.

@ci.pantano wrote, "My weakness is perfectionism, but I explain it differently than most people. I've been diagnosed with OCD and I believe it's important to disclose this to employers and managers." @abbys_nonsense revealed, "I always say that I struggle to ask for help when I'm overwhelmed." "My weakness is not saying 'no' enough and taking on too many projects, especially to help others catch up,” @over50living added.

You can follow Sonia Sheechoria (@levelupwithsonia) on TikTok for content related to career building.