Worldwide Panel LLC, a small market-research firm, is getting flooded with resumes for four vacancies in sales and information technology.

However, officials expect to reject numerous applicants after asking them: 'What is your greatest weakness?' Candidates often respond 'with something that is not a weakness,' say Christopher Morrow, senior vice president of the Calabasas, Calif., concern. 'It is a deal breaker.'

The weakness question represents the most common and most stressful one posed during interviews. Yet in today's weak job market, the wrong answer weakens your chances of winning employment.

Some people offer replies they mistakenly assume that bosses love, such as 'I am a perfectionist.' That response 'will be used against you' because you appear incapable of delegating, warns Joshua Ehrlich, dean of a master's program in executive coaching sponsored by BeamPines Inc., a New York coaching firm and Middlesex University in London.

A careful game plan could help you cope with the shortcoming query in a way that highlights your fit for a desired position. Job seekers who field the question well demonstrate that they can 'take initiative and improve themselves,' Mr. Morrow says.

The key? Thorough preparation. Career specialists suggest you take stock of your weaknesses, focusing on job-related ones that won't impede your ability to perform your duties. Tony Santora, an executive vice president for Right Management, a major outplacement firm in Philadelphia, says an information-technology manager flubbed a 2007 interview by choosing a personal foible as his reply: 'My true weakness is that I am a terrible cook.'

Rehearse your responses aloud, role play with a friend or videotape yourself -- but don't memorize your words. As you review the video, look for aspects 'you would like to change so you can continue to get better as you practice,' says Peggy Klaus, a leadership coach in Berkeley, Calif.

The IT manager changed his tune after practice sessions with fellow job seekers and a counselor in Cincinnati for Right Management. He instead said he worked such long hours that he found it difficult to stay current with world events. So, he spent 30 minutes every evening catching up at home.

When the manager pursued an opportunity at a global drug maker, his revamped response 'really resonated with the interviewer,' says Mr. Santora. The manufacturer hired the man.

It's equally important that you consider an employer's corporate culture. While being interviewed by a start-up, 'you could say, 'My weakness is I get bored by routine,'' says Ben Dattner, a New York industrial psychologist.

Last month, an aspiring executive director of a nonprofit group in suburban San Francisco nearly jeopardized his selection because his reply to a variation of the weakness question ignored one of its core values, according to Ms. Klaus, a board member there. Near the end of his interview, she wondered whether he might have problems with any aspects of the job. 'No, I am confident I could do it all,' the prospect declared.

His flip comment dismayed Ms. Klaus, because she felt he lacked awareness of his weaknesses. She says his response raised doubts among board members that 'he would be able to take critical feedback,' an attribute the organization values highly.

Because the man was well-qualified, the board gave him a second interview -- and demanded a fuller explanation of his weak spots. He said he had been 'unprepared for that question and nervous about coming out with a big fatal flaw,' then described his tendency to make decisions too fast during workplace crises. Board members' doubts disappeared, and they picked him for the nonprofit's top job.

Ideally, your reply also should exclude the word 'weakness' and cover your corrective steps. Dubbing your greatest fault a 'window of opportunity' signals your improvement efforts should benefit the workplace, says Oscar Adler, a retired Maidenform Brands sales executive and author of the book, 'Sell Yourself in Any Interview.' For instance, he suggests, a salesman might note that he sold more after strengthening his facility with numbers.

When an interviewer pops this nerve-wracking query, your body language counts as well. The wrong nonverbal cues undercut your credibility. Certain candidates hunch over, glance furtively around the room or wring their sweaty palms. 'They sort of look like they're being asked a question they can't handle,' says Mr. Adler.

Maintaining eye contact, regular breathing and a broad smile impress employers that 'you're prepared for the weakness question,' says psychotherapist Pat Pearson, author of 'Stop Self-Sabotage!'

For the same reason, you seem thoughtful if you pause before responding. But don't wait too long. 'If you're going to take a minute,' Mr. Morrow cautions, 'I've just identified your weakness.'

小型市場(chǎng)研究公司W(wǎng)orldwide Panel LLC準(zhǔn)備招聘4名銷(xiāo)售和IT技術(shù)人員，結(jié)果收到了大量簡(jiǎn)歷。

不過(guò)，招聘人員預(yù)計(jì)，在向應(yīng)聘者發(fā)問(wèn)“你最大的缺點(diǎn)是什么？”之后，會(huì)有很多人被淘汰。Worldwide高級(jí)副總裁莫羅(Christopher Morrow)說(shuō)，對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題，應(yīng)聘者的回答往往并非缺點(diǎn)，他們因此過(guò)不了關(guān)。

“缺點(diǎn)”問(wèn)題是求職面試中最常見(jiàn)也最讓人頭痛的一個(gè)問(wèn)題。而在眼下就業(yè)市場(chǎng)疲軟的情況下，不恰當(dāng)?shù)幕卮饘⒔档湍阙A得工作的機(jī)會(huì)。

一些應(yīng)聘者會(huì)給出誤以為老板會(huì)喜歡的答案，比如，“我的缺點(diǎn)是過(guò)于追求完美”。對(duì)此埃里奇(Joshua Ehrlich)提醒說(shuō)，這個(gè)回答會(huì)對(duì)你求職不利，因?yàn)樗�顯得你似乎沒(méi)有能力授權(quán)給他人。埃里奇是一個(gè)由紐約職業(yè)培訓(xùn)機(jī)構(gòu)BeamPines Inc.和倫敦米德塞克斯大學(xué)(Middlesex University)合辦的經(jīng)理人碩士班培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目的負(fù)責(zé)人。

為對(duì)付這個(gè)問(wèn)題，可事先精心設(shè)計(jì)好一個(gè)答案，以凸顯你適合所申請(qǐng)的這個(gè)職位。莫羅說(shuō)，出色回答這個(gè)問(wèn)題的求職者表現(xiàn)出他們能夠“主動(dòng)行動(dòng)，改善自己”。

關(guān)鍵在哪里？那就是充分的準(zhǔn)備。職場(chǎng)專(zhuān)家建議，你可以整理一下自己的缺點(diǎn)，挑出其中跟工作有關(guān)、但又不會(huì)妨礙你行使工作職責(zé)的方面。費(fèi)城大型職業(yè)介紹機(jī)構(gòu)Right Management執(zhí)行副總裁桑特拉(Tony Santora)說(shuō)，2007年一位IT經(jīng)理在參加面試時(shí)，在有關(guān)缺點(diǎn)的問(wèn)題上敗下陣來(lái)：他的回答居然是，“我真正的缺點(diǎn)是，我的烹飪技術(shù)很糟糕。”

大聲朗讀答案，可以找朋友或自己用錄像來(lái)一番角色扮演。不過(guò)，不要背誦自己的答案。加州管理培訓(xùn)師克勞斯(Peggy Klaus)說(shuō)，回頭看錄像的時(shí)候，找出你覺(jué)得可以改善的地方，這樣在練習(xí)時(shí)可以做得更好。

那位IT經(jīng)理在辛辛那提和其他求職者及咨詢(xún)師一起參加Right Management的訓(xùn)練課程后改變了思路。他后來(lái)的回答是，由于每天長(zhǎng)時(shí)間忙于工作，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己很難及時(shí)了解世界大事。因此，他每天晚上在家花30分鐘惡補(bǔ)這方面的信息。

桑特拉說(shuō)，當(dāng)他后來(lái)在一家全球性制藥企業(yè)求職時(shí)，他的回答讓面試官很有共鳴。這家公司最后雇用了他。

考慮目標(biāo)公司的企業(yè)文化也同樣重要。紐約心理學(xué)家達(dá)特納(Ben Dattner)說(shuō)，如果到一家初創(chuàng)公司面試，你可以說(shuō)，“我的缺點(diǎn)是容易對(duì)日常的循規(guī)蹈矩感到厭煩”。

克勞斯說(shuō)，上個(gè)月，舊金山郊區(qū)一家非營(yíng)利組織的一名熱情的執(zhí)行董事差一點(diǎn)兒毀掉他的機(jī)會(huì)，原因是他在回答一個(gè)變相的弱點(diǎn)問(wèn)題時(shí)忽視了這家機(jī)構(gòu)的一項(xiàng)核心價(jià)值�？藙谒故沁@家機(jī)構(gòu)的董事。面試快結(jié)束時(shí)，克勞斯想知道他對(duì)那個(gè)職位的各個(gè)方面是否還有什么問(wèn)題。“沒(méi)問(wèn)題，我想我都能解決，”這位求職者回答到。

他這么輕率的回答讓克勞斯有點(diǎn)失望，因?yàn)樗�感覺(jué)他對(duì)自己的缺點(diǎn)缺乏認(rèn)識(shí)。她說(shuō)，他的回答讓董事們懷疑他是否能聽(tīng)取批評(píng)性意見(jiàn)，而這家機(jī)構(gòu)對(duì)這一點(diǎn)非常看重。

但因?yàn)檫@位申請(qǐng)人其他條件很好，董事會(huì)給了他第二次面試機(jī)會(huì)，并要求他對(duì)自己的缺點(diǎn)作更充分的說(shuō)明。他說(shuō)，他第一次面試時(shí)“對(duì)那個(gè)問(wèn)題毫無(wú)準(zhǔn)備，擔(dān)心會(huì)說(shuō)出什么大的致命缺陷，”隨后，他向面試官提到自己在工作遇到危急關(guān)頭時(shí)，往往會(huì)過(guò)于倉(cāng)促地做出決策。董事會(huì)的擔(dān)心消除了，最后安排他擔(dān)任了這家非營(yíng)利機(jī)構(gòu)的負(fù)責(zé)工作。

理想的情況是，你在回答中應(yīng)盡量避免使用“缺點(diǎn)”這樣的詞，同時(shí)還可以提到改正措施。Maidenform Brands銷(xiāo)售主管、《在面試中推銷(xiāo)自己》(Sell Yourself in Any Interview)一書(shū)的作者阿德勒(Oscar Adler)說(shuō)，將你最大的缺點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)化為“機(jī)會(huì)之窗”，表明你的改善措施將使工作受益。比如他建議說(shuō)，銷(xiāo)售人員可以說(shuō)，在強(qiáng)化數(shù)學(xué)能力后，銷(xiāo)售業(yè)績(jī)上升了。

當(dāng)面試官突然提出這樣的刁鉆問(wèn)題時(shí)，你的身體語(yǔ)言也能反映一些問(wèn)題。不當(dāng)?shù)闹�體語(yǔ)言會(huì)削弱你的可信度。某些求職者會(huì)蜷縮身體，茫然地瞟著房間四周，或是扭動(dòng)出汗的手掌。阿德勒說(shuō)，他們看起來(lái)就有點(diǎn)像遇到了他們沒(méi)法對(duì)付的問(wèn)題。

心理學(xué)家皮爾森(Pat Pearson)說(shuō)，保持視線(xiàn)接觸、正常呼吸和明朗的微笑可以讓雇主覺(jué)得“你對(duì)有關(guān)弱點(diǎn)的問(wèn)題有所準(zhǔn)備”。皮爾森著有《停止自我摧毀》(Stop Self-Sabotage!)一書(shū)。

同理，如果你回答問(wèn)題前稍作停頓會(huì)讓你看起來(lái)深思熟慮。不過(guò)不要時(shí)間過(guò)長(zhǎng)。莫羅警告說(shuō)，如果你的停頓時(shí)間長(zhǎng)達(dá)一分鐘，那我已經(jīng)能發(fā)現(xiàn)你的弱點(diǎn)了。