Judicial Clerk Question:

Interviewers ask this question for two reasons. Number one, so you can tell them what your main weakness is and they do not have to guess, and number two, in order to determine if you are able to view yourself realistically. Those who do not view themselves realistically are not likely to be able to take constructive criticism or work to improve their skills, two things that employers generally want an employee to be able to do. Therefore, in order to answer this question, you will need to think about your skills and abilities and find an area that could use improving. You should then think about how you can work to improve the skill, as you will want to tell the interviewer, not only that you are aware of a weakness, but also that you are doing specific things to work on it. You might say, for example, “I am lacking in certain people skills and can sometimes come off as rude or uncaring, so I have been trying to pay closer attention to how I say things to people.” Another response may be, “I sometimes focus so much on the big picture that I miss the details, so I have been stopping what I am doing at regular intervals and concentrating on the details for a few moments.”