Best Answers To The Dreaded Question, "What's Your Worst Work Trait?"

One of the most dreaded interview questions that candidates get asked is,"What's Your Worst Work Trait?" How can you answer this question honestly without sabotaging your chances at getting hired?

1. Figure Out What Is Your Worst Work Trait

First of all, you need to figure out ahead of time what actually is your worst work trait. This will take some contemplation, so start thinking about it well ahead of your interview. Try, to be honest with yourself. Is it being tardy? Calling in sick too often? Trying to do everything yourself?

Forgetting about important work deadlines? Whatever it is, you can still use that to come up with the best answer to this dreaded question.

2. Decide How You Would Conquer That Bad Trait

Next, decide on how you would resolve that trait if you haven’t already. What would you do to ensure that trait doesn’t get the best of you if you end up being hired for this new position? Would you get to bed earlier? Get a louder alarm clock? Take better care of your health? Enroll in a course to learn how to delegate or to learn organization skills? If you haven’t done them already, do that next.

3. Answer the Question With a Solution

Finally, you’re ready to honestly answer the question and make yourself look awesome at the same time. Because whatever that bad work trait was, you’ve already solved it. You can answer by say, “Well, my worst work trait in the past was forgetting about important deadlines. But I solved it by enrolling in a course where I learned how to prioritize my time and organize my calendar. So I no longer have that bad trait. I’m now a much more reliable office worker.”

Interviewers want to hire problem solvers, and you just proved that you now how to do that with this clever solution to the most dreaded question.