What is your greatest weakness?

"Perfectionism" reads as no evidence at all. Name a real gap and what you are doing about it.

The answer most people give

"Perfectionism." Or a strength dressed up as one.

It is not wrong. It is simply not scoreable - and a panel can only award marks for something it can point at.

The answer that scores

A real gap, the workaround you already use, and what you are doing about it now.

What they are actually scoring

Panels have heard the disguised-strength answer so often that it reads as no evidence at all.

The two-minute test

Say your answer out loud and time it. Under 90 seconds and there is usually too little action in it to mark. Over four minutes and a panel starts editing you down in their head. Aim for two to two and a half minutes: the situation, what you were asked to do, what you did step by step, what changed, and one line of reflection.

Practise it out loud

Reading an answer back tells you it is correct. Saying it tells you whether you can get it out of your mouth in the time you have. https://dontbombit.com asks you the question and scores what you actually said.

Reading an answer tells you it is correct. Saying it tells you whether you can get it out of your mouth in the time you have.

Practise this question out loud — free