Simon Sinek: How To Talk About Your Weaknesses
blog.startwithwhy.comWhy the answer to “What’s your biggest weakness?” is NOT “My biggest weakness is I’m a perfectionist” Bullshit in, bullshit out. An interviewer with any level of experience doesn't ask bullshit questions. Exactly. What is an interviewer expecting when (s)he asks this question? Does (s)he wants us to be dead honest and tell me I'm not good for the job, or is it to create psychological stress and see how the candidate handles it ... or is (s)he throwing in a cliche to easily spot a candidate with mugged up answers? I spent last month appearing for a number of intern interviews ... nobody asked me this question. But if asked, the response on top of my head would be "I still don't use my text editor like a true hacker. There are so many more that if I gave you the list, there won't be a reason to proceed with this interview anymore." A bit OT:
I particularly struggled with questions when I was asked to rate myself on a language. Though I regularly use 3/4 languages, I see folks on "Show HN:" posts who use those languages like BOSS. Among my immediate (real life)peers, I probably know a few tricks/languages more than some of them. Next time I'm planning to ask the interviewer to give me a base, as this rating should definitely be a relative one.