What an awful interview question. This is the question I dread whenever I am in an interview, and one I will never ask when I am the interviewer. I dread this question because I have to lie, or spin something into something it isn’t, so in one interview I decided I had had enough, and I was going to tell the truth.

“Sam, what are your weaknesses”? Boom, there it is, I knew it was coming and I was prepared. So I answered.

My weaknesses are that if I do not truly believe in what I am doing, I will not be very good at it, sometimes when I am not feeling motivated I do not perform well. And the kicker was, when I feel wronged, I do not take it lightly and I want to get to the bottom of it, this sometimes cause confrontations, but that is something about me that will not change. I refuse to stand by and let people take advantage of me. You might say I tried to spin that, but no employer wants to hear, you might take it to the extreme in the middle of the office.

Needles to say, I got the job, they loved the honesty and all they really wanted me to do was be up front with them, when I felt like someone was trying to get over on me and let them handle it. I agreed on the condition that they would handle it, they agreed. That was a good working relationship during my employment, and I had a lot of fun.

But I ask you, what does that question solve? Really? Most people make up something truly rehearsed or full of crap. Instead of asking about my strengths, weaknesses, times when I had a conflict and how I handled it, how about asking:

How are you going to drive this company forward?
You have read about us, what would improve upon right now that we currently do?
Do you consider yourself an innovator? Explain please?
Tell us about a time when you failed miserably, and please go in depth.
Why should we hire you?

These are questions that provoke emotion, and with emotion comes truth, and with truth comes a true definition of the person you are thinking about hiring. If your interview is cut and paste then do not expect anything different from your employees. They will be cut and paste, interchangeable gears, with no thought outside the box. If you want a company that is going to be great, get great people, get eccentric people who are not afraid to make mistakes, but better yet, they are not afraid to take accountability for those mistakes.

Seek out people who will change your company for the better, people who will ask you the tough questions, and then put in motion the answers they already had thought of. Get exciting passionate people, especially in areas where exciting passionate people are most needed, which by the way is everywhere.