When asked during the interview, what are the shortcomings? This answer will impress the interviewer.

Xiaomei will graduate from college in June. The most important thing at this stage is to find a job and interview. Every day, Xiaomei is either in the interview or on the way to the interview. This job opportunity is very good, and it was introduced by my uncle. Xiaomei went to the interview with great ambition. After all, Xiaomei was very confident in the interview after having been on various battlefields many times.

The interview process went smoothly. Finally, the interviewer asked a question: What are your shortcomings?

After thinking about it carefully, the honest Xiaomei replied: I sometimes get emotional easily and cannot control my emotions well.

The interviewer smiled slightly, said nothing, and ended the interview.

Xiaomei went home and told her mother about the interview. Unexpectedly, after hearing her talk about her shortcomings, her mother scolded her for being ignorant and ignorant. How could she talk about her shortcomings? After talking about her shortcomings, which company would dare to hire you?

Xiaomei feels aggrieved. Shouldn’t he be honest?

Friends who have had interview experience know that it is a very difficult question when the other party asks you what your shortcomings are during the interview. If Xiaomei honestly talks about her shortcomings, what will the interviewer think? Will you lose job opportunities as a result? If you don't mention it, or if you haven't discovered your shortcomings for the time being, what will the interviewer think? After all, no one is perfect, so how can he not have shortcomings? It’s not true if you say it, and it’s not true if you don’t say it. Is there a way to remain sincere and talk about your shortcomings, while also allowing the interviewer to have a better impression of you?

Yes. The book "Story Power" provides a best-of-both-worlds solution to this dilemma.

In "Story Power", the author believes that story power is a kind of thinking ability. Thinking and communicating with story thinking is particularly important in the modern workplace. The book summarizes the three criteria and six elements of a good story. Six story models are given that everyone can use. It also introduces how to use storytelling thinking to turn danger into safety in eight workplace application scenarios. Being asked about shortcomings by the interviewer is one of them.

The authors of this book are a couple. Gao Lin and Lin Hongbo. Both have more than 20 years of management and consulting experience in Fortune 500 companies. All have PhDs in business administration. He is a guest lecturer at Tsinghua University and Peking University MBA. We provide coaching and consulting services to famous companies such as Shanghai Volkswagen and Sequoia Capital all year round.

In response to the question of shortcomings asked during the interview. The answer given by "Story Power" is "change the frame".

“Changing frames” is originally a professional term in neurolinguistic programming. Let me give you an example from life so that everyone can understand better.

Usually, when we go to parks or playgrounds, we will see some framed statues placed in the park for people to stand in the frames and take pictures. Standing in the frame, you will become Snow White or a dwarf, etc.

Comedian Song Dandan has a classic sketch "Blind Date". The woman came to the man's house for a blind date because the family was poor and did not have a TV. The village cadre was so anxious that he drew a TV frame out of a cardboard box and stood behind the frame pretending to be playing TV. The highly myopic woman didn't notice it.

This is what frames are for. When there is a frame in front of them, people will pay more attention to the things in the frame, and information outside the frame will be automatically "eliminated" by people.

"Story Power" says:

This choice is usually subconscious and determined by our long-term thinking habits, so this frame is also called a "thinking frame"

Let’s talk about a case of changing the marketing frame.

The owner of a cafeteria felt very distressed when he saw customers wasting food. A rule was proposed: Any customer who did not finish the food on his plate would be fined ten yuan. As a result, business plummeted.

After being advised by an expert, he changed the rules: Any customer who finished the food on his plate would be rewarded ten yuan. As a result, there were a lot of customers and business was booming.

As consumers, it is easy for us to fall into the "price" box. No matter what price a merchant gives, we will feel it is expensive. A habit of thinking has been formed. This is the consumer’s mental framework regarding price. Now that I have to pay a fine, I won’t even spend money.

A reward of ten yuan will give consumers a new thinking framework. From the original loss to gain. This is in line with human needs. Naturally, you will spend happily.

It can be seen that changing the thinking frame means changing the angle of thinking about the problem. The same scenario will produce different results due to different thinking frameworks.

The thinking habit of ordinary people is: shortcomings must be disgraceful things. If the other party knows the disgraceful things, they will not have a good impression of themselves. If you leave a bad impression on the interviewer, you may lose a job opportunity. This is a very serious problem. So Xiaomei's mother was very anxious when she heard her daughter speak frankly about her shortcomings.

If you change your thinking frame, you can change from seeing the shortcomings to seeing the efforts and process of correcting the shortcomings. Then the impression of the interviewer will also change.

The story model of "conflict - conflict resolution - perfect ending" can help the audience shift their focus to the thinking framework of "solving the problem".

The steps are the same as in the model. The first step is to tell a conflict story that exposes your shortcomings. The second step is to talk about how you worked hard to correct your shortcomings, and the third step is to introduce the perfect ending after the shortcomings are corrected.

In "Story Power", Dr. Gao Lin talks about her shortcomings like this.

In 2018, our customer service girl resigned. I told HR that this time we need to recruit someone who is more stable, less ambitious, and preferably someone who can also handle our administrative work. So HR wrote a job description for "Administrative Manager" and sent it out. After interviewing two people who worked in administration and customer service, I told HR: "No, they are so clueless and don't understand the market at all."

HR searched hard again One pass. After two interviews, I said: "We are an Internet startup after all. To be in this position, you must have some concept of Internet operations."

The HR girl got angry: "Recruiting administrative and customer service requires meticulousness, stability and patience," while marketing and operations require "bold innovation and courage." These are two completely opposite people! Can you think clearly about who you want to recruit? Who are you? This goes on and on endlessly.

I began to reflect on myself. If I use my "many ideas" to develop product diversity, it can provide various possibilities and opportunities for the company. Abundant resources can add value to the company. However, if they are used on specific matters that require decision-making, they can easily become "vacuous" and cause trouble to those who implement them.

Since then, every time "Hey, I have a new idea" pops up in my mind, I will ask myself before blurting it out: Is this a "plan or a decision"? If it is a plan, does it require brain In the case of Storm Opening Up, I let everyone know that this is an idea, and they can refute me. But if it is a "decision" that everyone has already discussed and had some common knowledge, I will take a deep breath and think about it again. Is it necessary to overturn the previous decision?

From this story , we can see that Dr. Gao Lin’s shortcomings emerged in the conflict with HR, and he resolved the conflict through his own reflection. Finally, he came to the conclusion that this shortcoming of having many ideas can be used in brainstorming to open up ideas. If it is If you have already made a decision, take a deep breath and think about whether it is necessary to overturn it.

Use the story model to "change the frame" of the interviewer, allowing the interviewer to shift from focusing on shortcomings to focusing on how to correct shortcomings. They will think that you are a humble and studious person who can look back on yourself in everything and look for the reasons from yourself first. people. Use this to score yourself a high score in the interview.

A story model perfectly solves the dilemma of being asked about shortcomings in interviews.

In addition to changing frames, interviewers should also pay attention to the following two points when answering this question

First, be honest.

Some interviewers will try to be clever in order to avoid this question. For example, “My biggest weakness is my pursuit of perfection.

” or “I just try too hard sometimes!” "The interviewer is not a fool. Such a smart answer will lower his self-image. No matter how good the previous interview is, the interview may fail because of this problem. In the workplace, character is more important than skills.

Two, find a shortcoming that is not fatal and can be improved through hard work.

You can talk about shortcomings, but you can’t talk about them casually. One is to remind you of two shortcomings that are easy to be "fatal". General knowledge in the workplace, such as serious emotional problems. No one likes people who are emotionally unstable and unable to control their emotions. The second is that it is fatal to the position you are applying for. For example, if you apply for an accounting position, your shortcoming is that you are familiar with numbers. If you are applying for an editor position, this shortcoming is harmless.

If you are asked about shortcomings during the interview, you can use the story model of "conflict-resolution-perfect ending" to tell the shortcomings. Make the interviewer look at you with admiration. However, personal work strength and honest personality are the magic weapons to win the interview.