Shadowing Practice: What is Your Biggest Weakness? (Ace this Interview Question!) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Nope, it's not okay to say a weakness that's really a strength in disguise.
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And yes, there are such things as acceptable weaknesses and unacceptable deal breakers.
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In this video, I'll first share three practical tips to help you with this tricky yet common interview question,
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then walk you through a sample answer I use to land roles in management consulting and product marketing.
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Let's get started.
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Hi friends, welcome back to the channel.
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If you're new here, my name is Jeff.
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Come for the legitimate tips and stay for the hilarious interview answers from Reddit.
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Diving right into tip number one, stay away from deal breakers.
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When it comes to answering the, what is your biggest weakness interview question, there are such things as wrong answers.
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And this is because hiring managers generally expect a basic level of competency from job applicants.
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These deal breaker weaknesses include not being able to manage multiple projects at once, not being detail oriented, and not being a people person.
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You should avoid saying these because no matter how many strengths you have or how capable you are in all other areas, if you can't get the basics right,
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it's gonna be very hard for your future manager to trust you to work independently.
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To be a bit more blunt, while good managers are always gonna be there to guide you and help you grow, they wanna cut down on the need to micromanage your schedules,
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double check your work, and apologize to colleagues you might have inadvertently offended.
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The good news is there's a great way to be honest about your shortcomings
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when faced with what is your greatest weakness while avoiding those deal breakers.
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And that's tip number two, highlight a skill expected of someone more senior.
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A great way to answer the question and show you a growth mindset is to mention a skill you currently lack, but you see in someone in a more senior position.
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This is a very safe option because at your current level, you're not expected to have that particular skill anyways to do your job effectively.
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So naturally, it's an acceptable weakness.
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For example, the main focus of a sales representative is selling to clients, right?
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So on a day-to-day basis, they might be thinking about what products would be a better fit for my clients?
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When should I visit my largest account?
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What should I buy my next big fat sales bonus?
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Whereas the manager of the sales rep might need to think more strategically.
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Which verticals are performing the best right now?
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What are some of our big bets for next year?
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How can I get more resources to better support my team?
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If you're interviewing for a more junior position, mentioning strategic thinking as a weakness is a relatively safe choice
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because it's not something you're expected to be great at in your current capacity.
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If you'd like, let me know what weakness you plan on sharing in your next interview, and I can give you some feedback in the comments below.
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Tip number three, give a concrete example.
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You might think giving a specific example to the biggest weakness interview question is a bad thing.
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After all, you're purposely shining a light on a mistake you've made in the past.
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But trust me when I tell you the opposite is true.
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By giving a concrete example, you number one, show the interviewer you truly understand there is an area you need to work on, thus showing you have strong self-awareness.
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And number two, you get to sneak in an explanation on what steps you're taking to improve.
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To structure your example, you should use the Carl answer format, which is star on steroids.
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And it stands for context, action, results, and learning.
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If you're not familiar with this, make sure to check out my video on async behavioral interviews.
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Putting all this together, here's a sample answer you can reference when preparing for your next interview.
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So Jeff, can you tell me about your biggest weakness?
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Sure, I would say my biggest weakness is that sometimes I like the confidence to present my work, especially in a larger group setting.
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I remember a few months ago, I was helping out on this QBR quarterly business review, and I was responsible for the slides on market sizing and opportunity.
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We do this every quarter, and usually it's my manager who presents most of it, and I add on a little bit about the projection numbers.
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At the last minute, my manager had to attend another meeting and entrusted me with presenting the entire section.
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I had maybe like two days to prepare, and I was pretty nervous.
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So not only did I practice and memorize the entire thing, I also emailed my slides to the other teams beforehand as a pre-read to see
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if they had any questions I could address offline.
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Luckily, the cross-functional teams sent over their feedback in time for me to make changes in my slides
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so I didn't have to field too many questions during the presentation in real time, which would have been the hardest part.
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Thankfully, my manager received positive feedback regarding my performance, and she even made a joke about skipping the next one as well.
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While I can't say I'm suddenly a confident speaker, I think aligning with team members ahead of a meeting like
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that is a great way to avoid surprises and therefore make me less nervous.
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And I think in the long term, presenting to a large group would be less and less of a problem for me.
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All right, so that's a pretty strong answer, even if I do say so myself.
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It shows that you are aware of a relevant weakness.
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You haven't magically addressed overnight, but you are taking concrete steps to improve.
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If you're interviewing right now, make sure to check out my playlist on the most common interview questions and answers.
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See you on the next video.
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In the meantime, have a great one.
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Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Este vídeo tiene 63 frases y 1015 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 5:03. El hablante habla rápido, unas 201 palabras por minuto, así que espera sonidos enlazados y reducidos. El 82 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés; conviene repasar el resto antes de empezar.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| weakness sustantivo | /ˈwik.nɪs/ | debilidad, flaqueza |
| concrete adjetivo | /ˌkɑnˈkɹit/ | concreto |
| skill sustantivo | /skɪl/ | destreza, habilidad |
| feedback sustantivo | /ˈfiːdˌbæk/ | valoración, comentario |
| slide sustantivo | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | tobogán, resbaladilla |
| acceptable adjetivo | /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/ | aceptable, asumible |
| naturally adverbio | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | naturalmente, a natura |
| practical adjetivo | /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ | práctico |
| format sustantivo | /ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/ | formato |
| bonus sustantivo | /ˈbəʊ.nəs/ | bonificación, plus |
| explanation sustantivo | /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ | explicación |
| strategic adjetivo | /stɹəˈti.dʒɪk/ | estratégico |
| whereas | /(h)wɛɹˈæz/ | mientras que (locution) |
| hire verbo | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | contratar, emplear |
| resource sustantivo | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | recurso |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| check out verbo | investigar, chequear |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 19 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, can't, gonna. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
- Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, shine /ʃaɪn/, projection /pɹəˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/, shortcoming /ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ/
- Palabras largas — cuida el acento: acceptable /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, legitimate /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como weakness, concrete, skill.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.