Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash
Maybe you’ve never had a job interview before. Maybe you’ve
had many of them. Some questions will be invariably easier to answer than
others.
But one question you need to be ready for is this one: “What
is your greatest weakness?”
I’ve been interviewed many times and I’ve had to interview
potential employees many times.
When this question is asked, it is painful (and sometimes
humorous) to watch some of the potential job candidates squirm in their seats
as they struggle to find an answer to their “greatest weakness.”
Sometimes, I’ve had potential candidates be bold enough to
state that, “I can’t think of any area for improvement,” or even “I have no
weaknesses that I can think of.”
Guess what?
They weren’t hired.
Their huge ego or their lack of introspection was obviously
an area of weakness. Maybe both.
Even if the candidates were all-stars in each and every area
of their job function, there has to be at least one area that isn’t as good as
the others. Everyone can improve. Everyone should strive for perfection. If you
aren’t perfect, then there is still room to grow and improve.
If you are perfect, then why are you in a job interview in
the first place?
If we don’t have the ability to honestly self-evaluate our
current abilities, then we won’t know what areas of our life (personal or
professional) need improvement.
I don’t want to hire an employee that isn’t willing to admit
areas of weakness and improve on them, and neither does your potential
employer.
Admittedly, we don’t want to bring up all of our skeletons
during our initial job interview. But we must be prepared to have a
satisfactory answer for this question.
While many of my friends and colleagues would be quick to
identify many of my areas of weakness, years ago I came up with my standard my
standard “go-to” answer during a job interview:
“I am deadline driven.”
I have always been deadline-driven. If you want something
done by the 15th of the month, don’t expect me to provide it to you on the
10th. If you want it on the 10th — you need to tell me that up front. I will do
whatever it takes to meet the deadline, but don’t expect it any earlier.
My wife always tells me that my weakness is because I
procrastinate.
I will tell you it is because I prioritize.
I try to fit as much as I possibly can into both my personal
and work lives. When she tells me that she wants me to paint the kitchen, I let
her know that I will “get to it.” Of course, I never do.
Why?
Because she hasn’t given me a deadline.
So — am I a procrastinator or a “prioritzor?” The truth is
that I am neither a procrastinator nor a “prioritizor.” While some people may
be true procrastinators, I am not one of them.
There have been many times in my life that I fell victim to
the Student Syndrome — a term that refers to “planned” procrastination, but I
don’t think I am a victim of this today.
I remember back in college I was certainly guilty of falling
prey to the Student Syndrome. I would wait until the last possible moment to
start a research a paper and then pull an all-nighter to get it completed and
turned into my professor. Why did I put it off for so long? I had other,
non-important but far more enjoyable things to do, like football games,
basketball games, socializing and watching TV.
While I may not be guilty of the Student Syndrome now, I am
certainly guilty of falling victim to Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s Law is generally expressed as the phrase “Work
expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
If I have a deadline to complete something in 4 weeks, it
will be done in 4 weeks.
If I have the same task but only given two weeks to complete
it, it will generally be done in two weeks. Nothing has changed but the
deadline.
To meet the condensed deadline, I have to prioritize. What
can I put off in order to make certain that I can get the other assigned task
done within 2-weeks time? If I have excess time, I will try fit in something
that is a higher priority and finish the task later. Or I may have to delay
other non-pressing tasks (like painting the kitchen) in order to meet the
2-week deadline. Either way, I have to prioritize.
You may look at the terms Parkinson’s Law and Student
Syndrome as being the same thing.
I do not.
With Student Syndrome, you intentionally put something off
because you just don’t want to do it. With Parkinson’s Law, you continue to do
the amount of work that is required so that it is still accomplished within the
given time period.
Keep in mind that Parkinson’s Law, or the phrase, “Work
expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” can be a
double-edged sword for employers.
Some employers may give highly-motivated and
highly-productive team members a shorter time period to compete their tasks
knowing full well that the employee will do whatever they have to do in order
to meet that deadline.
Other employers — one’s that are not familiar with
Parkinson’s Law — may give too much time between assigning the task and the
deadline for completion. What happens in this case? All too often, work will
“expand” so that it takes the entire allotted time. (We will sometimes refer to
this a “billing-and-chilling” in my industry.) They employee could finish
quicker, but they drag their feet, don’t work as hard as they should, and bill
the company unnecessarily while “taking it easy.”
It is important for an employer to set reasonable deadlines
and expectations so that employees don’t get abused by Parkinson’s Law (being
assigned too much work in a short period of time) and so they don’t abuse the
company by Parkinson’s Law (dragging their feet so that the employee is
unproductive and doesn’t get the work accomplished until the required
deadline.)
Employers that understand Parkinson’s Law should establish
reasonable time expectations for the actual work that needs to be accomplished
— not too much and not too little. It needs to be just right to maintain optimum
productivity.
So, there you have it.
I am neither a procrastinator or a “prioritizor.”
I guess I am a “Parkinsonian” — guilty of falling victim to
Parkinson’s Law.
Regardless, I am still deadline-driven, and some employers
may view this as an area of weakness.
Now, time for some introspection:
What is your greatest area of weakness? How will you respond
during a job interview?
