If you’ve ever been on a job interview, you’re well aware of the notorious questions most hiring managers ask. The obligatory “Tell us about your strengths” question is a slam dunk. It’s easy to rattle off all the ways you excel in your role as a medical assistant. The follow-up question, “Tell us about your perceived weaknesses as a candidate” is a minefield. The conventional wisdom for some time has been to turn a strength into a weakness. Yet after many years of hearing, “My biggest weakness is that I work too hard” or “Being a perfectionist annoys my co-workers” interviewers have become wise to this deflection. Most will not let you off with one of those shop-worn answers. So how are you supposed to answer that question without disqualifying yourself in favor of other applicants with similar levels of nursing assistant education?
USNews and World Report has published this good piece on how to answer this probative line of questioning. The short answer is: to tell them about a true weakness you possess, but then explain what you’ve done to correct the behavior in your work. Being candid about your shortcomings can work to your advantage as it shows you to be a thoughtful and self-aware person. Just the kind of professional they’d like to hire as their next medical assistant.
Looking to start a healthcare career? Find all the courses you need at the Allen School of Health Sciences – we have three campuses in Queens, Brooklyn, and Phoenix. Contact us below to learn more about the program!
CONTACT US
Updated December 12, 2023
If you’ve ever been on a job interview, you’re well aware of the notorious questions most hiring managers ask. The obligatory “Tell us about your strengths” question is a slam dunk. It’s easy to rattle off all the ways you excel in your role as a medical assistant. The follow-up question, “Tell us about your perceived weaknesses as a candidate” is a minefield. The conventional wisdom for some time has been to turn a strength into a weakness. Yet after many years of hearing, “My biggest weakness is that I work too hard” or “Being a perfectionist annoys my co-workers” interviewers have become wise to this deflection. Most will not let you off with one of those shop-worn answers. So how are you supposed to answer that question without disqualifying yourself in favor of other applicants with similar levels of nursing assistant education?
USNews and World Report has published this good piece on how to answer this probative line of questioning. The short answer is: to tell them about a true weakness you possess, but then explain what you’ve done to correct the behavior in your work. Being candid about your shortcomings can work to your advantage as it shows you to be a thoughtful and self-aware person. Just the kind of professional they’d like to hire as their next medical assistant.
Looking to start a healthcare career? Find all the courses you need at the Allen School of Health Sciences – we have three campuses in Queens, Brooklyn, and Phoenix. Contact us below to learn more about the program!
CONTACT US
If you’ve ever been on a job interview, you’re well aware of the notorious questions most hiring managers ask. The obligatory “Tell us about your strengths” question is a slam dunk. It’s easy to rattle off all the ways you excel in your role as a medical assistant. The follow-up question, “Tell us about your perceived weaknesses as a candidate” is a minefield. The conventional wisdom for some time has been to turn a strength into a weakness. Yet after many years of hearing, “My biggest weakness is that I work too hard” or “Being a perfectionist annoys my co-workers” interviewers have become wise to this deflection. Most will not let you off with one of those shop-worn answers. So how are you supposed to answer that question without disqualifying yourself in favor of other applicants with similar levels of nursing assistant education?
USNews and World Report has published this good piece on how to answer this probative line of questioning. The short answer is: to tell them about a true weakness you possess, but then explain what you’ve done to correct the behavior in your work. Being candid about your shortcomings can work to your advantage as it shows you to be a thoughtful and self-aware person. Just the kind of professional they’d like to hire as their next medical assistant.
Looking to start a healthcare career? Find all the courses you need at the Allen School of Health Sciences – we have three campuses in Queens, Brooklyn, and Phoenix. Contact us below to learn more about the program!
CONTACT US
2 Responses to “How to Approach the “Weaknesses” Question in Medical Assistant Interviews”
Leave a Reply
Good solutions…. Thanks for sharing the post…
I must express some appreciation to the writer just for rescuing me from such a scenario. Because of surfing throughout the world wide web and coming across ideas that were not beneficial, I thought my life was gone. Living without the presence of approaches to the issues you have solved by way of the posting is a serious case, as well as ones which could have in a wrong way affected my entire career if I had not encountered your blog. That ability and kindness in dealing with almost everything was crucial. I’m not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t encountered such a solution like this. It’s possible to now look forward to my future. Thanks so much for the professional and amazing help. I won’t think twice to propose your web site to any individual who needs to have support about this issue.