In these short pages, we provide a sample answer for each interview question in relation to the industry shown. We then analyse the answer, pointing out valuable information so that you can adapt the answer to your specific circumstances.

Human Resources - What Are Your Weaknesses?

Answer

One thing I had noticed when I was in college was my failure to push back on people and just say 'no'. In HR, we can't just go with the flow and there are times when we need to put the foot down, so I knew this was something that would need to improve if I were to start a career in HR. To combat this, I took some Conflict Management classes, to improve my confidence when faced with those types of scenarios. I'm still a work-in-progress, but gradually improving in this aspect. I feel the only way I can fully put this right is through life experience. So, while I used to shy away from these situations, now I tackle them head on so that I can learn from them.

Another area I have felt I was lacking in was Finance in HR. I sometimes hit a mental block when dealing with numbers and couldn't get my head around some maths problems. I hired a maths tutor at home to get up to speed and also took extra classes to resolve my issues. This has helped and I've come on in leaps and bounds in the past twelve months.

Analysis

The Interviewee keeps it short and sweet with this one. They begin with a weakness they had experienced as far back as college, which makes it clear that this has been a problem for a long period of time. Dealing with confrontation or being able to tell people 'no' can be a difficult thing, especially if you're on the shy side. Usually, people that are in this predicament tend to be fully aware of it but any time they face those situations, they freeze up and their minds go blank. In HR, you could have to deal with incidents involving employees where you have to mediate. In these circumstances, the HR professional needs to be level-headed to make the right decisions. You cannot be seen to be timid or shy in these situations; but as this Interviewee says, they are fully aware of how important it is to be confident and to be able to take control, and so they have taken appropriate steps to improve in this area.

HR can be quite complex and a HR professional would also have to be equipped in the Finance end of things. The Interviewee felt this in an area that required major improvement and took action to enhance their knowledge. This shows their awareness of the weakness and their will to improve. The Interviewee explains how they pushed for improvement in this area by hiring a maths tutor. Their determination to excel really shines through in the answer because of the steps they took to overcome their weakness.

Overall, the Interviewee got straight to the point and was concise. They gave their weaknesses, explained how it affected them, and mapped out the plan of action they took for improvement.