“Katie Couric: What one personal flaw do you think might hinder your ability to be president?
Barack Obama: I don’t think there’s… a flaw that would hinder my ability to function as president. I think that all of us have things we need to improve. You know, I said during the primary that my management of paper can sometimes be a problem.”
–Pre-Election Interview Between Barack Obama and Katie Couric
Ah, the “greatest weakness” interview question.
If even Barack Obama couldn’t come up with a good answer to this one, what hope do you have?
It’s one of the most difficult and controversial questions in interviews, but if you follow the guidelines here you’ll at least be able to give a better response than Obama – and you’ll land an offer or 2 in the process.
The Greatest Weakness Interview Question: Why They Ask It
This question – and its many variants, such as “What are your 3 greatest weaknesses?” and “What constructive criticism have you received?” – is silly to ask in interviews because:
- 90% of the time interviewees give non-answers that tell you nothing about their abilities.
- The other 10% of the time, they give a legitimate weakness or say something ridiculous that sinks their chances, even if they could actually do the job well.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t get the question anyway – bankers, after all, are from rational.
It’s arguably the toughest “fit” question to answer because:
- Unlike your response to the “Walk me through your resume” question, there’s no template you can follow.
- There is no consensus on a “good” answer.
- If you say something stupid or inappropriate, you might get dinged on the spot.
There are 2 schools of thought on how to answer the weakness question in interviews:
- Give a BS answer like “I work too much” or “I’m too much of a perfectionist.”
- Give a legitimate weakness, like saying that you sometimes lose focus when working on extended projects, or that you have trouble delegating work to others, and then show how you’ve been working to improve yourself.
Which Approach is Correct for This Question?
Neither approach is necessarily ideal, but the second one is closer to the mark – at least in finance interviews.
A non-answer like the examples in method #1 won’t necessarily sink your chances, but the interviewer may stop you mid-sentence and call your bluff, or tell you that you should give a real weakness rather than a fake one.
Giving a legitimate weakness that affects your ability to do the job could go either way – occasionally the interviewer will appreciate how you gave a real weakness, but they might also doubt your ability to do the job if you say something that hits too close to home (e.g., you have poor attention to detail).
And the last thing you want to do in an interview is plant a seed of doubt in the mind of the interviewer.
So, the better approach here is togive a “real” weakness but one that is not that significant for the job you’re applying to.
How NOT to Answer the Greatest Weakness Interview Question
As with fashion, cover letters, and grades, this question is more about avoiding a bad response than giving a good one.
You should avoid non-answers, answers that show a lack of self-respect, joke answers, and legitimate weaknesses that impair your ability to be a banker:
- “I work too hard!” (non-answer)
- “I’m a perfectionist and expect too much of others.” (non-answer)
- “I go to a non-target school. / I’m not a finance major.” (lack of self-respect)
- “I have chronic back pain / other physical problems.” (TMI)
- “I can’t multi-task well.” (you can rephrase this one to sound less serious)
- “I’m not good with numbers.” (you will get tossed out of the interview)
- “I’m too shy.” (this just sounds weird)
- “I have no weaknesses!” (non-answer / joke answer)
- “I voted for [Name] / I’m [Religion Name] religion” (this shows poor judgment)
You may think these sound ridiculous, but I’ve heard variations of everything here mentioned in real interviews and mock interviews.
If the interview is going very well, you can sometimes give one of these answers and then brush it off as a “joke” afterward, but I would not recommend it because it’s a risky approach.
Instead, we suggest the following approach and sample answers:
Criteria for “Less Bad” Answers
Here’s what you need for a solid answer:
- Your weakness has to be legitimate – no perfectionism, chronic back pain, or claiming that you have no weaknesses.
- But it can’t seriously affect your ability to be an investment banking analyst or associate – please don’t say that you can’t work long hours, that you easily forget about details, or that you have trouble working in a team.
- And it also has to be something that you’ve been actively working to improve.
Example Answers to the Greatest Weakness Interview Question
Most advice stops here and doesn’t present sample responses you could give in an interview. We’re going to fix that by providing not 1, but 3, example answers you could give.
Before you leave a comment saying, “That answer is stupid!!!!” realize that none of these answers is perfect, or even “good” – rather, they are “less bad” alternatives to the really bad answers above.
“I’m not always good at delegating tasks, so sometimes the workload isn’t divided evenly among team members.”
Why It’s Acceptable: This is a real weakness, but as an Analyst (or even Associate), you won’t be delegating that many tasks on the job.
Also, you don’t say that you’re too much of a perfectionist or that you do too much of the work.
Effectively, you’re taking a clichéd answer (“I work too much”) and spinning it so that your weakness results in sub-par team performance.
You could then add a bit about how you’ve been working to improve this over time, but this is not necessarily a great idea unless they ask for that part (otherwise, it might come across as too artificial).
“I sometimes take too much time to make decisions, or I second-guess myself, which makes it take longer to complete tasks.”
Why It’s Acceptable: This is a real weakness that could hurt you in banking, but bankers still want you to make the correct decisions and do the work correctly above all else.
Also, as an Analyst or Associate, you are not a true “decision-maker” in the same way the senior bankers are.
Taking too long to make trivial decisions could hurt you, but not in the same way that a poor decision will hurt a VP or Managing Director.
“I submit my projects and work on time, but sometimes I forget to follow up and check to see what I need to change or improve.”
Why It’s Acceptable: This is a legitimate weakness that could hurt you in IB, but it’s not that serious a weakness… since you still get your work done.
Also, in most cases, it’s up to the senior bankers to respond and tell you what to fix or improve.
So, this weakness is a concern for long-term career development/promotions, but not necessarily for the immediate “get stuff done on time” test.
More Notes About the Greatest Weakness Interview Question
You won’t always get the exact “What’s your greatest weakness?” question. Other variations include:
- “What are your 3 greatest weaknesses?”
- “What are your 3 greatest weaknesses? I know the first 2 will be BS, so give me 3.”
- “What would your friends say about you?” (Strengths and weaknesses)
- “What flaw do you have that could hurt your ability to do this job?” (The Obama question)
None of these is much different or more difficult than the original question.
Explaining your strengths is easier than giving your weaknesses (give a strength that’s highly relevant to IB, like quantitative ability, and then a specific example of when you used it), so there’s not much to say there.
For the questions where you’re asked to give multiple weaknesses, you could give 2 “non-answers” for the first 2 weaknesses, and then give a real weakness for the last one – if they expect you to do that anyway, you might as well play along.
You might get called out on the “Obama” weakness question if you say something like public speaking, so be prepared with something that’s more relevant to banking, such as lack of experience.
Your Greatest Weaknesses?
So what’s your greatest weakness?
Hopefully your answer doesn’t start with “None” or include “the management of paper.”
And you might just get the offer, even if you still can’t win a U.S. presidential election.
Want More?
You might also be interested in these related articles about interview questions and interview prep:
- Investment Banking Interview Questions and Answers: The Definitive Guide
- Investment Banking Fit Questions
- How to Walk Through Your Resume in Investment Banking Interviews
The reality is, no two candidates will describe their “greatest weakness” in the exact same way.
And while the examples above serve as a good starting point, you might need to go beyond this and get professional help in crafting your answer to this very important question.
If that’s you, our friends at Wall Street Mastermind might be able to help you out.
They’ve worked with over 1,000 students to help them secure high-paying investment banking jobs out of school, and their coaches include a former Global Head of Recruiting at three different large banks.
They provide personalized, hands-on guidance through the entire networking and interview process – and they have a great track record of results for their clients.
