Would This Be An Acceptable Weakness In An Interview?

[nurse3121]

I'm preparing for my second new graduate nursing interview, and was wondering if this would be an acceptable answer for the question "What are your weaknesses/areas you could improve?"

This interview is for ICU. Unfortunately I was unable to complete my preceptorship/senior practicum in ICU, but I did complete it on a med/surg floor. I know I'll be up against other applicants who did theirs in ICU. I was thinking that I could explain this as my weakness in an interview. I would explain scenarios of critical patients I took care of in med/surg and how it relates to ICU.

Is this an acceptable "weakness" or should I focus on a personality flaw? I don't want to rub anyone the wrong way by acting like my only weakness is simply that I don't have ICU experience. This is always a tricky question. Thanks!

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I never admit to any weaknesses. That question is a double-edged sword question that could lead one into not selling them-self as a qualified applicant. For every job that I have ever gotten I have said no. I was actually questioned about it, the lady said everyone has weakness and I said I always work hard to never have any.

[TeeDotNurse]

I never admit to any weaknesses. That question is a double-edged sword question that could lead one into not selling them-self as a qualified applicant. For every job that I have ever gotten I have said no. I was actually questioned about it, the lady said everyone has weakness and I said I always work hard to never have any.

How did that work for you? Did you get hired? If thats the route you want to take then a better way to phrase it is to say what things you have to work hard on and what things come more easily. At least imho. Saying you dont have any sounds like you are either not self aware or stuck up.

As i said above I told them my weakness is impatience and gave examples of steps im taking to work on it. I got the job

[llg, PhD, RN]

I never admit to any weaknesses. That question is a double-edged sword question that could lead one into not selling them-self as a qualified applicant. For every job that I have ever gotten I have said no. I was actually questioned about it, the lady said everyone has weakness and I said I always work hard to never have any.

I would never hire anyone who said that to me. That answer suggests that you have no insight to your own behaviors ... that you might not be receptive to constructive criticism ... that you might not be tolerant of weaknesses in others. I wouldn't hire someone like that.

I wonder how many jobs you didn't get because of that answer -- or how many you won't get in the future. I suggest modifying your answer a bit to say that you work hard to avoid having your weaker areas effect your work ... and that you have worked hard to avoid having X be a problem at work.

[HermioneG, BSN, RN]

I was asked this question in my interview. For me, it was important to avoid the cliches and just be honest. They know you're human, and so you're going to have some weaknesses. I think it's more of a question to gague your introspective(ness?) and ability to self evaluate. But that's just my opinion, of course!

For weaknesses I think it's important to state how you're working on it. Don't just leave it as a weakness. Talk about your improvement plan. I answered mine along the lines of "my greatest weakness is x. If not managed it can hurt me by doing y, so I manage it by doing z. A and b can make it worse, so I use c resources to help me address it. My goals are d, and I am currently at E place right now with taking this weakness head on"

For example, I said mine is that I can have anxiety. This is my greatest weakness because I can get worked up about things sometimes that I really don't need to be so anxious about. My anxiety can get worse with things like loud noises and very stimulating environments.

I work in the ER, so you can imagine how that has the potential to cause problems. With that being said, I address it by working to identify situations that I know in advance will increase my anxiety and mentally prepare for them, and being aware and in tune with myself emotionally before things hit the fan. I also find that being open and honest about it with my peers (when appropriate) helps because people often help me put it into perspective so I'm not trapping myself in an anxiety echo chamber. They also will sometimes notice when I'm getting wound up and call me out on it, which has been incredibly helpful in this job as well as the one I had for many years before my interview took place.

I believe that with proper management it can actually be a strength because it keeps me vigilant, but it can be harmful if I don't manage it properly. I will continue to address it head on and be open and honest with myself as I grow.. It's actually gotten so much better as a New Grad compared to when I was a student, so that's a start!

Anyways, that's just my two cents.. Take it with a grain of salt. Good luck!!

edit: I just realized I bumped an old thread.. sorry! I didn't catch that before! :)