Interview Q: What is your biggest weakness?

[big4bound]

To all the members here who have interviewed with the Big 4 or other accounting firms before, how did you respond/plan to respond to such a question?

I tried googling it and found some pretty "out there" responses. Hoping some of your experiences will give me better insight.

[LCYG]

The best weaknesses are the ones where you can show how you are working to overcome them. They should be in the "too much of a good thing" category. For example, "I sometimes lack patience with my teammates because I always want to get the work done as quickly and effectively as possible" is better than "I'm a very angry person." A good response should not sound like this: "This is my weakness. The end." But rather should sound like this: "This is my weakness, here is an example of when things did not go so well for me because of my weakness, and here is how I have been working to overcome my weakness."

I know it's a tough question. Fortunately I was not asked that during my interview, ha ha. Hope that helps though.

[Krupo]

Think of what Homer Simpson would say. Do the opposite. Oh man, that was a great scene.

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/8F10.html

Smithers: What would each of you say is your worst quality?
Man 1: Well, I <am> a workaholic.
Man 2: I push myself too hard.
Homer: Well, it takes me a long time to learn anything,
I'm kind of a goof-off...
Smithers: Okay, that'll do.
Homer: ... a little stuff starts disappearing from the workplace...
Smithers: That's enough!
-- Job interview, ``I Married Marge''

[myCAsite]

LCYG's response is absolutely correct. You have to demonstrate that you are working to improve upon the weakness.

You might also want to explain why you think you have this weakness. For example, "I have the tendency to overlook small details because I am naturally a 'big picture' thinker, and I understanding things best by viewing them at a high level. Because of this, I realize that when I am doing very detailed or precise work, such as a complex tax question, I will closely review the question after I have completed it to ensure that I have not missed something."

[big4bound]

Wouldn't the tendency to look over small details sound like a very negative quality when interviewing for an audit job where attention to detail is critical?

[myCAsite]

This is a good question. Although audit involves a lot of detailed work, but it is more important to be able to see the overall engagement issues. This is reflected in the UFE. Audit indicators tested on the UFE do not involve detailed calculations, but rather challenge the writer's ability to identify and assess/correct major issues.

Tax is similar. There are so many rules and details involved in tax, but the most important thing is to understand the overall tax planning arrangement.

[big4bound]

That is an awesome reply. Just what I wanted to hear, thanks!

[Krupo]

Also, being a candidate who's aware of their faults and is intelligent enough to recognize them will, overall, put you better light than a "blank wall" of a candidate who reveals nothing and may be incapable of introspection which is crucial to self-improvement.

[vegetablevn]

Also, being a candidate who's aware of their faults and is intelligent enough to recognize them will, overall, put you better light than a "blank wall" of a candidate who reveals nothing and may be incapable of introspection which is crucial to self-improvement.

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Apart from that, this link below may be useful: Weakness interview question
Tks again and pls keep posting.