Name: How to Answer the “Greatest Weakness” Interview Question
Uploaded: 2025-10-17T17:58:42.000Z
Duration: 7 min 29 s
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One of the most challenging interview questions is what are your greatest weaknesses?

Basic passive voice

Jubbal medschoolinsiders.com how do you discuss your weaknesses honestly while still ensuring the interviewer is left with a positive impression of you?

Stick around to hear how I answered this question back when I applied to medical school.

While the phrasing of this question may alternate between interviews, it's very likely that you will be asked this in some form.

Whether the interview is for college, medical school, residency, scholarships, or a job, it might be worded as what are your greatest flaws?

If it sounds like a bit of a trick question, that's because it is.

Why would you tell an interviewer you want to impress about the parts of your personality you're least proud of?

It's like having dinner with your partner's parents for the first time and giving them a rundown of your previous failed relationships.

Obviously, the what is your greatest weakness?

Question isn't an invitation to tank your interview by revealing you're a functioning alcoholic or kleptomaniac.

At the same time, you'll also tank your interview if you give a bogus answer like My greatest weakness is helping people too much.

Interviewers are looking for mature candidates who are self aware and dedicated to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.

What matters is acknowledging areas where you struggle and demonstrating what you're doing to improve.

So how do you effectively answer this challenging question?

It's important to be honest but positive.

Look for a middle ground when it comes to your weaknesses.

You don't want to say something like I'm a really bad team player or I have an unfortunate habit of cheating on tests.

Your answer shouldn't raise any major red flags with admissions committees.

Saying you cheat or aren't a team player goes against the morals and ethics that are the foundation of healthcare.

These weaknesses speak to who you are as a person, and

that's not something an interviewer wants to risk, especially when they have so many equally as impressive candidates to choose from.

On the other hand, don't swing too far in the opposite direction.

Admissions committees have interviewed thousands of applicants.

They can sniff out falsehoods and will not appreciate if their question is evaded.

Answers that avoid the core of the question as well as what the interviewer is looking for include Some people say I'm too nice, I'm a perfectionist, or I push myself too hard.

Strike a balance, share slight weaknesses and explain all of the ways you have worked and are currently working to improve upon them.

It's best to keep the focus on your professional and academic development.

This isn't an opportunity to highlight your personal insecurities.

As you list your flaws, mention specifically what you have already done to address them and that the work is ongoing.

This focus on continuous improvement demonstrates maturity, which is an extremely sought after quality in a medical student.

It's also critical that you don't make something up.

You may be asked a follow up question that you're unable to answer or the admissions committee may see through your answer entirely.

Use the question as an opportunity to reflect on something you're working to improve or a clear weakness in your application that the interviewer is already aware of.

If you have too many short lived experiences listed on your application, share how you are learning to prioritize fewer opportunities so that you can dedicate yourself more fully to the ones that are the best fit for you.

If your application shows you struggled with research, what have you done since to remedy that gap in your experience?

If research is one of your struggles the Med School Insiders Ultimate Pre Med and Medical Student Research course distills how to become a research superstar in an easy to follow structured format.

This course will help you maximize your potential as a competitive med school and residency applicant.

Let's go over some examples that illustrate how to strike a balance.

Believe it or not, when I applied to medical school, one of my greatest weaknesses was public speaking.

Even though I was completely comfortable and articulate in smaller interactions with just a handful of people, I would get nervous speaking in front of a larger audience and especially in more formal or academic settings.

To address my fear, I intentionally stepped out of my comfort zone to build my confidence speaking in front of larger groups.

I sought out public speaking opportunities, including joining Toastmasters, an international nonprofit that helps people build confidence with public speaking through a worldwide network of clubs.

It demonstrates self awareness and it addresses the actions I had taken and was still currently taking to improve upon the weakness.

Other examples include getting too caught up in the details, not being comfortable saying no, lacking confidence in your abilities, or being uncomfortable with ambiguity.

One, the weakness must be something that is honest and true to you.

Don't choose a weakness just because you've seen it used as an example, and

2 you must be able to demonstrate through clear examples what you have already done to address the weakness and what you will continue to do moving forward.

Practice and preparation should be your main focus, not memorization don't expect you'll be able to come up with a well thought out response on the fly.

It is imperative that you prepare your answer beforehand.

Structure your response, but don't write out a script and memorize every word.

Create a general outline of the talking points you want to hit and then practice hitting them over and over again.

Scripted responses sound forced, phony and robotic.

Plus, if the interviewer interrupts you to ask you to elaborate on something you didn't anticipate, you could get thrown off balance and lose your place.

This is why it's so important to practice common questions in many different forms and to surprise yourself with unique questions.

You won't know what questions will come up on interview day, but

by practicing under pressure you will build your interview skills and ensure nothing throws you off.

Our medical School Interview AI course combines comprehensive guidance with an advanced hyper realistic AI model.

What makes our course so valuable is the unlimited personalized feedback loop you'll leverage as you prepare.

Mock interviews are charged by the hour, but

with Interview AI you'll access immediate and unlimited personalized evaluation of your answers.

That's right, your feedback is immediate.

You'll receive tailored, actionable insights on content, creating tone, body language, eye contact, filler words and more to ensure you are prepared for any question come interview day.

You can even interact with our AI Coach Indigo, who will help guide you on the specific ways you can improve through one on one dialogue.

Sean Anderson will lead you through 33 video modules of expert guidance that will ensure you completely understand the ins and outs of the interview experience.

This includes not only how to answer questions, but

also guidance on scheduling, pre interview socials, attire, common mistakes, sample answers and breakdowns of the most common questions you'll face, including critical do's and don'ts.

Try out our AI interview tool for free at interview.medschoolinsiders.com and for full access.

Get 20% off the course using code weakness20 for the next 30 days.

Learn more in the description and check out our other interview guides right up here.