25 “Weaknesses” Employers Actually Want To Hear About
Interview with companies long enough, and you’ll eventually hear a potential employer ask some variation of the question, “What would you say is your biggest professional weakness?” While talking about one’s professional weaknesses is never fun, it also provides a wonderful opportunity to display confidence and engage in some self-reflection.
But the question also puts potential employees in a bit of a quagmire: is there a “right” or “wrong” answer? If you’re too honest, will you talk yourself out of a “dream job”? If you’re not honest enough, will your potential employer think you’re too arrogant?
Believe it or not, there are some answers to this question that employers want to hear about. For example…
1. Fear of Public Speaking
The fear of public speaking has become more and more common in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A University of Florida study suggested that as many as 75 percent of all professionals suffer from some sort of fear of public speaking — so many employers don’t see it as a negative.
To overcome your fear, experts suggest reframing your fear of failing in front of a crowd. In other words, rather than dwelling on what could go wrong, focus on what will go right. This will go a long way in helping you gain confidence in your public speaking skills.
2. Fear of Asking for Help
Professionals in high-ranking positions often have the same trait: they’re afraid to ask for help. And, psychologically, there’s a reason why that’s so.
“Perceived vulnerability is one of the biggest brakes on seeking support, according to feedback from audiences. Yet the fear of being seen as vulnerable comes from a simple misunderstanding. People see vulnerability as a weakness,” notes Psychology Today, who points out that vulnerability is a strength, despite it being seen as otherwise in a professional setting.
3. Delegation of Tasks
One of the biggest problems that many modern professionals have is the appropriate delegation of tasks — mostly because they’re afraid that doing so will result in diminished accountability of the task quality. According to the Harvard Business School, though, this weakness can easily be overcome. And, since only 28 percent of employers offer training on the matter, there’s no shame in admitting this as a weakness — because you’re not alone.
“Giving up being ‘the go-to expert’ takes tremendous confidence and perspective even in the healthiest environments,” said one expert who consulted with the Ivy League school. “It’s even more challenging in the average company, where being a good manager is seen as a ‘nice to have,’ but where producing the core deliverable is what is truly esteemed.”
4. Overthinking Tasks
Up-and-coming professionals often worry that they are overthinking certain tasks, and they’re afraid to disclose this to a potential employer. But they wouldn’t be afraid to do so if they knew how many professionals think — or, in this case, overthink — just like them.
“Research suggests 73% of 25- to 35-year-olds chronically overthink, along with 52% of people ages 45 to 55,” note the experts at Forbes, who remind professionals about the importance of sharing their thoughts with other professionals to find a common ground.
5. Time Management Challenges
If you’re afraid that having time management challenges is an insurmountable weakness at work, quell your fears immediately. In a survey conducted by Zippia (via HomeBase), a whopping 82 percent of all employees reported having an ineffective time management system, resulting in wasted time and company resources.
Experts suggest trying a time management system, such as the Eisenhower Matrix or the Pomodoro Technique, to help overcome these shortcomings while managing your time — and your team’s time — effectively.
6. Inexperience With Certain Tasks
Higher-level professionals are really good at specific things, and lower-level professionals are really good at adapting to specific things. Regardless of their position in the world, though, both professionals have one thing in common: they have inexperience with certain tasks.
Being inexperienced, however, isn’t necessarily seen as a bad thing by hiring professionals. In fact, according to The Undercover Recruiter, inexperienced professionals feel less stress about getting hired with no experience than experienced professionals.
7. Writing
Poor writing skills are much more common in the business world than you think. According to Inc., 26.2 percent of all recent college students have insufficient writing skills to set them up appropriately in a professional environment. This deficiency is costing businesses an eye-watering $3.1 billion in remedial writing training.
When it comes to writing (and perhaps this seems flippant, coming from a professional journalist), practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.
8. Sending Emails
One might think that, in this digital age, sending a proper professional email would be second nature to the average professional. But in reality, more professionals struggle with sending work-appropriate emails than you realize.
“Making email etiquette mistakes in the workplace — it’s not going to capsize your career,” said Jeff Su to the Harvard Business Review. “But learning the unspoken rules of writing professional emails will affect how competent you are perceived to be in the eyes of your colleagues.”
9. Being Disorganized
Ever look at your desk, your office, and/or your cubicle and wonder if you could be more organized in both your work and your space? You’re not alone. According to the National Organization of Professional Organizers (via Simply Productive), 27 percent of all workers say they feel “disorganized” at work, and 91 percent of those who answered as such said that they would feel more productive if things were more organized.
Since it’s not unusual for workers to feel disorganized — or even be disorganized — disclosing as much shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for a potential employer.
10. Not Being Able To Say “No”
No one likes saying “no,” any more than they like hearing “no.” However, saying “no” is essential to establishing appropriate personal and professional boundaries — however difficult it may be.
“Research shows that anywhere from 35 to 60 percent of people have difficulty saying “no” to others,” said Daniel Bobinski to ICE Magazine. “It’s refreshing for many to realize that we don’t have to be at the end of our rope before it’s OK to say no. Nor must we be belligerent or difficult. Learning to say no is a healthy part of managing our activities to maintain – or regain – a sense of sanity. And many of us learn that by saying no to certain things, we can be more productive and effective.”
11. Uncomfortable With Cold-Calling
Cold-calling used to be a skill deployed by everyone from insurance agents to telemarketers. But with the rise of pig-butchering scams and other telemarketing annoyances from other countries, cold-calling has become one of the most odious tasks for employees to perform.
“A whopping 61% of salespeople polled said that cold calling was their least favorite sales task,” reports a survey conducted by Meera.ai. “The poll was based on responses from 80 sales professionals in the United States and the data was collected via the user research platform Lyssna.”
12. Uncomfortable With Speaking Up
People, in general, are afraid of speaking up because they are afraid of being ostracized — and that anxiety is magnified in a work environment.
“While 69% of respondents to a recent survey commissioned by ISS stated that they have a sense of belonging at their workplace, more than half (51%) also cited feelings of not being able to share their opinions freely,” said CMM. So, if you’re afraid that not speaking up will disqualify you from the position you want the most…don’t be.
13. Paying Attention to All the Small Details
Employers are dual-minded about being employees who are sticklers for small details. On one hand, these employers sometimes feel as though these employees are wasting time and decreasing productivity.
On the other hand, employers want their employees to pay attention to small details. According to a survey conducted by the appropriately named AttentionToDetail.com, a whopping 87 percent of all managers feel that their employees need to pay more attention to detail to avoid mistakes.
14. Being Introverted
Being introverted is not the same thing as being shy. Introversion refers to the way you process your information, not whether you’re boisterous and exuberant in your interpersonal interactions.
What’s more, introverts shouldn’t fear that they won’t get a job of their dreams because of the way their brains work. Rather, there are plenty of ways they can not only survive, but thrive, at work — because they’re far from alone. “Within this landscape of work, introversion may be more common than you think—with 38% of people who say they are either completely introverted (9%) or mostly introverted (29%). And 31% who report they are an equal mix of introversion and extroversion, according to a survey by YouGov,” reports Forbes.
15. Lacking Confidence
People, in general, have a myriad of reasons for lacking confidence in both their lives and the workplace. If you tell your potential employer, however, that you’re not as confident as you should be, your employer probably won’t hold it against you, considering that one study suggests that 85 percent of all people worldwide struggle with confidence at some point in their lives.
As with writing, confidence is something that comes with time and practice. The more you do something, the better you get at it — and the better you get at it, the more confident you are that you’ll be able to do it. Confidence is one of those things where you can “fake it ’til you make it,” and no one would be the wiser!
16. Incapable of Adapting To Different Personalities
We all have someone at work whose mere existence makes our skin crawl. And the truth is, more of us than not struggle with adapting to different personalities in the office.
“More than half (51 percent) reported that ‘different personality types’ either had or were currently causing conflict in the workplace,” reports Workplace Insights. “A further 40 percent said they were suffering with stress, and 15 percent had already resigned from their job as a direct result of workplace conflict.”
17. Feedback Delivery
Employees who try out for — and subsequently receive — managerial positions are often tasked with providing feedback (constructive and otherwise) to their charges. So how can companies reconcile hiring managers who struggle with doing so?
As it turns out, these managers are not alone. According to Forbes, 65 percent of all employees say that they don’t get enough feedback from their managers (if that is, they get any feedback at all), mostly thanks to time restrictions. So, if you’re concerned that you won’t get the position because you can’t deliver feedback…don’t be.
18. Feedback Acceptance
Consequently, people don’t just have a problem giving feedback — they have a problem accepting it, as well.
“While many workers are eager for feedback, especially constructive feedback, in many cases managers may be reluctant to provide it,” notes Harvard Business School. “A recent Gallup poll, for example, found only 26 percent of employees strongly believe that the feedback they receive helps them do their work better. A McKinsey survey of 12,000 managers indicated they consider “candid, insightful feedback” critical to career development.”
19. Social Awkwardness
Blame the COVID-19 pandemic if you must, but more professionals than ever — especially millennial and Gen Z professionals — are suffering from some sort of social awkwardness or another.
According to a survey conducted by YouGov, one in four Americans consider themselves “somewhat more awkward” than others, and 25 percent say they’re about an average amount of awkward. That means that about 50 percent of all professionals in the workforce today have some type of social awkwardness — so don’t let it stop you from applying for, and snagging, that job you want.
20. Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is more than just anxiety upon seeing numbers — it’s about the complete inability to process mathematical equations.
“Dyscalculia is a developmental learning disorder that results in math skills that are well below average for a person’s age,” said U.S. News & World Report. “Between 3% and 7% of the population has dyscalculia.”
21. Dyslexia
Amazingly, there are some people whose inability to write stems from a previously undiagnosed case of dyslexia.
According to The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, “dyslexia affects 20 percent of the population and represents 80–90 percent of all those with learning disabilities. It is the most common of all neurocognitive disorders.” For what it’s worth, it is illegal for an employer to refuse to interview you, or employ you, because you disclose that you have a disability.
22. Unrealistically High Standards
Having high standards is a good thing — it will have you expecting the best and never settling for less. However, having unrealistically high standards is not a good thing.
“This study of more than 300 executives in 10 countries shows that approximately 35% of executives fail because of a tendency toward perfection,” reads a study from the Harvard Business School. “As a leader, appropriately raising the bar allows the people who work for you to grow as your organization progresses. If your standards are too high though, you may be doing more damage than good.”
23. Inability to Multitask
One of the traits of a high-functioning professional — at least to a hiring manager — is that professional’s alleged ability to multitask. But the reality is, that multitasking is a myth — and if you can’t do it, it doesn’t make you any less of a professional, and neither does it diminish your ability to do your job effectively.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, only 2.5 percent of all professionals can effectively multitask — and the mere thought of multitasking can hinder, not help, our professional performance. “Studies show that when our brain is constantly switching gears to bounce back and forth between tasks – especially when those tasks are complex and require our active attention – we become less efficient and more likely to make a mistake,” they said.
24. Inability To Maintain Proper Phone Conversations
For a myriad of reasons, the modern world struggles with maintaining phone conversations at an overwhelming rate.
“According to a 2019 U.K. study of office workers, the study found that 76 percent of the millennials surveyed experience phone anxiety, compared to 40 percent of the baby boomers,” reports The Cut. “For growing numbers, picking up the phone takes a Herculean effort — especially, according to a 2019 study from AB Labs, if the call is from an unknown number.”
25. Lack of Patience
Patience may be a virtue, but the vast majority of us don’t have it either in our personal or professional lives. “Patience may be a virtue, but it’s no longer a reality,” said Maria Veltre, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, of Fifth Third Bank. “In our increasingly fast-paced society, every second counts. This was the driving force behind our faster mobile app, which takes the wait out of banking and makes it easier for our customers to get what they need and get on with their busy day.”
According to Fifth Third Bank, a whopping 96 percent of people claim they don’t have patience. So, if you tell a potential employer that being impatient is one of your weaknesses, they’ll most likely tell you to join the club.