Weakness

How it is used

Mostly heard in the interview question 'What is your greatest weakness?' Candidates usually describe a real but manageable weakness and explain what they are doing to improve it. HR writing often prefers 'area for improvement' or 'development area'.

Example sentences

1. My biggest weakness used to be public speaking, so I joined a presentation workshop.

2. When she asked about my weaknesses, I said that I sometimes take on too much work.

Common collocations

• greatest weakness
• biggest weakness
• strengths and weaknesses
• admit a weakness

Related terms

• strengthA quality or ability that you are particularly good at and that helps you do your job well.
• skillAn ability to do something well, usually because you have learned and practised it, such as writing reports, coding or managing a budget.
• behavioral questionAn interview question that asks you to describe how you dealt with a real situation in the past, usually starting with 'Tell me about a time when...'.
• upskillTo learn new skills or improve the ones you have, often so that you can keep up with changes in your job or industry.

More terms: Skills, Strengths & Weaknesses

• soft skills
• hard skills
• transferable skills
• team player
• track record
• proactive
• detail-oriented