Sample Reply for "Tell me your weakness"

Let me begin by saying that if you think this interview question is absurd, I agree ! I wonder how anyone can ever expect a candidate to mention a honest weakness that can kill his or her prospects at a job, residency or fellowships. Some opine that the ability to answer this question adroitly might be more important rather than the actual weakness itself. The usual advise is to honest about mentioning a weakness that you have been improving upon - just don't mention ALL of them.. ;-)

However belligerently you may oppose the question, the bottom-line is you gotta be prepared to dole out an answer ...Here are some sample replies for the "Tell me your weakness" interview question:

1. "I have rather found myself impatient when it comes to teaching others - especially junior medical students. However I realize that teaching is an excellent way to reinforce my own memory. I now look for opportunities to teach as and when possible, the latest opportunity I had was when I held a rapid midnight tutorial on managing diabetic ketoacidosis for medical students who accompanied me while on call. I hope I will have ample teaching chances at your program"

2. "I usually find myself nervous and anxious while talking to a large group of people. But I have realized that sharing information on conferences is how doctors and researchers advance the science of medicine. It is an important skill to have and I have been taking every opportunity to make presentations in class, conferences, observerships. etc. I think I am getting better and more comfortable :-)"

3. "I have had a problem being organized when there are too many deadlines to meet, so I have been using my iPhone / PDA / written memos / to-do lists to keep myself on top of things...which has surely made me a better performer"

4. "I have not been able to focus my academic interests on any single medical area, I find too many areas fascinating, which I think is a weakness that can potentially keep me from being an effective contributor. This has made me a little reluctant to decide on one choice of a specialty, though I do know that i like being in a research environment and would like do a dedicated fellowship" - Note: If you gonna use this answer, make sure you don't make a fool of yourself by giving a paradoxically precise and definite answer for "So where do you see yourself in 10 years" ...lol...do balance that !


You are the best person to decide what you wanna talk about - this Q is certainly not easy, but after giving it some time and some broadminded 'out of the box' thinking, you should be able to come up with reasonable points.

Arrite - now lets look at some "Don't dos"

1. Don't go overboard with the out of the box thinking and reply with a totally irrelevant answer, even if its true ..like "I drive too fast on highways".. hehe..be broadminded..but not so much that your brains fall out !

2. One terribly cliched answer that you should stay away from = "I am a workaholic...causes an imbalance in my personal life". Someday I might get to be faculty and interview the hell out of you fellas and if I hear this 'workaholic' reply, I am gonna give you the most sarcastic grin you ever saw and say - Oh Really !



Think you got some smart sample replies for the above question ? Do drop them as comments ...


Also read:

- SmartMD: A Quick Mnemonic about DKA


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