Demystifying- What is your weakness
What is your weakness?
“Interview Jargons: “Hard button, hot point, Hot button, Turn offs, Side line etc.”
Being an HR professional, honestly I never understood the very purpose of this question? Many a times, I put this thought across my friends who are in assessment centers and in interview panels.
But the super-progressive views on BEI or CBI were no match for the residue of a tradition that expects people to have a weakness & strength point.
At times it’s like a death blow to many interview candidates.
I have seen people covering weakness points with strengths and goofing up with “google-answers”
Probing More
I have decided to take this out from the jargon-box of Human Resources.
I have started asking people, what will you draw from these weakness points?
- How many of you have rejected or selected candidates on the basis of this point?
- How many of them (points) were really pertinent to the position/role/culture?
- How many of the points which people said- you have thought can trouble the team or the productivity?
What we find?
Most of the answers were vague. Not enough -statistical data facts to make a conclusion. Even at times they have said- I have seen this in interview guide, so I thought to ask this!
How we made it effective?
Making it short, we have facilitated our interview panel to reframe these questions. Instead of asking people weakness; we made them to think through these lines
- What steps or plans you have taken to improve an area which you have thought will help you in future?
- How you have measured the results and what were the root causes of the same?
- Can you cite a plan which you have facilitated to helped your colleague to further work on his strengths or his area of development?
Results:
People came up with brilliant answers rather than typical “google-ones”. Someone have moved from last minute doer, using “google keep” sharing tasks with his team; someone started thinking about the value of his questions, before dumping all sorts of questions to the clients – which irritated his team & troubled the time factor; someone took help of Evernote to de-clutter his thoughts & actions, to focus on his daily tasks etc.
Re-framing questions changed the entire paradigm. We thought from a value perspective. It helped the candidates to open up & see it as an opportunity rather than threat. It generated new ideas & insights for us. Also it helped us to facilitate rational thinking & to draw logical conclusions towards the position competency.
– BEI : Behavioral Event Interview
– CBI-Competency Based Interview
