Interview question - what are your weaknesses?

DeeFox

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I have a teaching interview next week and I'm thinking about how to answer this question. I've heard people say that you should just say that you work too hard or are a perfectionist but that seems so false to me. Any suggestions for ways to answer this question??
 
You could try honestly?!

Pick an area that is genuinely a weakness, but not a fatal one, and stress how you acknowledge it and manage it.

For example I recently had a (successful) interview, and I said that I'm not naturally highly organised, so I acknowledge it and manage it by using lists to manage my time and my priorities.
 
I have a distate for formal interviews because they are so fake and rehearsed, rehashed and to be honest vomit inducing. With clichés like "I'm a good listener" etc, pass the bucket quick please.

Worse again when asked about your weaknesses . . . I would love to say, I have a weakness for chocolate . . .
 
I have a distate for formal interviews because they are so fake and rehearsed, rehashed and to be honest vomit inducing. With clichés like "I'm a good listener" etc, pass the bucket quick please.

Worse again when asked about your weaknesses . . . I would love to say, I have a weakness for chocolate . . .

Its management bs. Plus, peoples perceptions of themselves are not usually a good match with reality. My last boss was a terrible people manager, I mean terrible. He was a great guy, very intelligent and technically minded, but he couldnt manage people to save his life and frequently upset people by behaving in a socially awkward almost autistic way while dealing with them. Yet he goes into interviews saying one of his strengths is being a good people manager and he really believes it!
 
If you are recently qualified you could say that your lack of experience is a weakness. However you can quickly turn it into a positive by saying you are willing to learn, adaptable, can adopt a variety of teaching methods and reflective etc.

Experienced teachers are not necessarily good teachers, its what they do with that experience that counts
 
Thanks very much for responses - will possibly say something along the lines of what Rustbucket has suggested as it is true. Think it's such an old fashioned question but apparently it does come up lot in teacher interviews.
 
My honest answer to that question would be a lack of tolerance for trite, by the book BS questions in interviews.
 
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