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How do you answer the interview question: What are the positive traits you don’t have? When preparing for interviews, job applicants focus their preparations on areas that qualify them for the position; hence, behavioral questions often take them off-balance. You expect questions around your specialty or job experiences. Preparing adequately for interviews is the simple secret of dealing with this sort of question.

Self-building requires you to working towards complementing your strength and identifying your shortfalls; Dealing with them is vital to our personal and career growth. No one is perfect; We all have weaknesses and deficits in one way or the other. Employers are always rooting for candidates that are at the top of their game because they good performers in the workplace. Owning up and learning from your mistakes and failure shows responsibility, which is another employable quality.

This question is meant to determine how well you are assessing yourself as well as your commitment to self-improvement. Interviewers ask this question to know your ability to perform your responsibilities. It is also meant to gauge your self-esteem regarding your ability to do the job, so you should avoid being unsure when responding. Show that you understand that there are different types of people and personalities and that all are valuable in their way.

You may wonder, how will I say something negative about myself during an interview? You are expected to be euphemistic when faced with this question. Let the negative traits you will bring forward not be those that can affect your job.  While there is no universal formula to successfully answer this question, there are things you can do to increase your chances of impressing the recruiter. Below are two factors to consider when choosing a negative trait for this question.

1. The needs of the interviewing firm

Employers always use this seemingly innocent question to find out your ability to perform your responsibilities. To determine which negative qualities or professional weaknesses you should say, research the position you are interviewing for. Equally study the firm’s culture, so that you will know what exactly you to say that will not hurt your chances of securing the job. For instance, a firm with strong religious ties will not tolerate utterances that conflict with their faith.

2. Your efforts towards improvement

For each negative quality you will mention, there should be a corresponding improvement plan. The question is intended to assess your self-awareness and the efforts you put toward being better. Employers ask this question to know how you handle your flaws. Identifying your flows isn’t just enough. An employer wants to hear the conscious steps you have taken so far to improve from them. this shows your commitment towards mitigating the impact of that trait on your work and improve yourself as a professional.

 

Types of negative traits to say in an interview  

1. Feeling overly pressured around deadlines: while it is normal to be a bit stressed when approaching a task’s deadline, getting too worked up about it can be a negative trait. You can craft your response positively by saying, you are learning to set realistic deadlines instead of ambitious ones like you use to.
2. Poor time management: this could imply combining so many tasks at the same time, or not delivering tasks in time. You simply let the interviewer know that you are improving by using reminders, alarms, and calendars on digital to keep to time. Similarly, you now plan the time frame for executing each task, so you don’t have to be combining many at the same time.
3. Overly critical of yourself: perhaps you are a perfectionist who is critical of everything you do except it turns out exactly as you had envisaged. Or even yet, you are still at the beginning of your professional career and don’t receive commendations for tasks executed. These could generate a lot of negativity that becomes a weakness. Your improvement technique could be that you have now chosen to actively pause to celebrate your successes and follow-up on feedback, which gives you the needed satisfaction to keep going.
4. Procrastination: most people have us have this problem; it affects our productivity at work. The thought of ‘there is still time’ always leaves us rushing to complete tasks or not even completing as at when due. If you procrastinate often, tell the interviewer that you are now managing it by creating daily schedules to hold yourself accountable.
5. Shyness: depending on the role or your line of job, shyness may not be a negative trait. If it is a role that requires you to interact with many people, employers would consider shyness as a weakness. While answering, you can say that you have enrolled in a professional speaking class that requires you to talk a lot.

 

Mistakes to avoid

1. Refusing to answer the question: you may be tempted to say you can’t think of any positive quality you don’t have to impress the interviewer. This answer will only achieve the contrary. The interviewer may end up judging you as an unprepared or dishonest person. This could affect your chances of landing the job. Interviewers have logical reasons for each question; you can only choose not to answer any at your peril.
2. Making a positive trait look negative: in the quest to appear good, candidates could try to negate a positive trait. In as much as good impressions matter in interviews, it should be done within the frame of reality. For instance, referring to staying long hours at work or being sympathetic to a team member’s plight could appear deceptive. The employer wants to hear real-life shortfalls and your improvement efforts to determine your attitude towards professional growth.
3. Revealing damaging shortcomings: you are not supposed to highlight weaknesses that will hurt your chances of succeeding in the role. For instance, negative traits like drunkenness, temperament, high-headedness, etc. should not come up when dealing with this question. Instead, focus on light attributes that are directly related to the role. Although honestly is most desired, being too honest might end up hurting your chances of landing the job.

 

Let your answer reveal how you view yourself and how you can perceive and address your flaws. Acknowledging bad traits you would like to develop shows that you are committed to keeping developing and putting effort towards self-improvement.                    

Interview Questions