Shadowing Practice: What is Your Biggest Weakness? (Ace this Interview Question!) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
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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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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze video bevat 63 zinnen en 1015 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 5:03. De spreker praat snel, ongeveer 201 woorden per minuut, dus reken op verbonden en ingeslikte klanken. 82% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden; de rest kun je beter vooraf bekijken.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
15 woorden uit de video die het leren waard zijn, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| weakness zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈwik.nɪs/ | zwakte |
| concrete bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˌkɑnˈkɹit/ | concreet |
| skill zelfstandig naamwoord | /skɪl/ | bekwaamheid, vaardigheid |
| feedback zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈfiːdˌbæk/ | terugkoppeling |
| slide zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | glijbaan, schuifaf |
| acceptable bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/ | aanvaardbaar, acceptabel |
| naturally bijwoord | /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ | natuurlijk |
| practical bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈpɹæk.tɪ.kəl/ | praktisch |
| format zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈfɔːɹ.mæt/ | lay-out, formaat |
| bonus zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbəʊ.nəs/ | bonus, extraatje |
| awareness zelfstandig naamwoord | /əˈwɛɹ.nəs/ | besef, bewustzijn |
| explanation zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ | verklaring, toelichting |
| strategic bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /stɹəˈti.dʒɪk/ | strategisch |
| whereas | /(h)wɛɹˈæz/ | hoewel, terwijl |
| hire werkwoord | /ˈhaɪɹ/ | huren |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| check out werkwoord | onderzoeken |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 19 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals you're, can't, gonna. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, presentation /ˌpɹɛzn̩ˈteɪʃn̩/, shine /ʃaɪn/, projection /pɹəˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/, shortcoming /ˈʃɔːtˌkʌmɪŋ/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: acceptable /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, legitimate /lɪˈd͡ʒɪt.ɪ.mət/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als weakness, concrete, skill.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.