如何用英文谈自己的缺点
那位IT经理在辛辛那提和其他求职者及咨询师一起参加Right Management的训练课程后改变了思路。他后来的回答是，由于每天长时间忙于工作，他发现自己很难及时了解世界大事。因此，他每天晚上在家花30分钟恶补这方面的信息。
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.
桑特拉说，当他后来在一家全球性制药企业求职时，他的回答让面试官很有共鸣。这家公司最后雇用了他。
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.
考虑目标公司的企业文化也同样重要。纽约心理学家达特纳(Ben Dattner)说，如果到一家初创公司面试，你可以说，“我的缺点是容易对日常的循规蹈矩感到厌烦”。
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.
克劳斯说，上个月，旧金山郊区一家非营利组织的一名热情的执行董事差一点儿毁掉他的机会，原因是他在回答一个变相的弱点问题时忽视了这家机构的一项核心价值。克劳斯是这家机构的董事。面试快结束时，克劳斯想知道他对那个职位的各个方面是否还有什么问题。“没问题，我想我都能解决，”这位求职者回答到。
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.
他这么轻率的回答让克劳斯有点失望，因为她感觉他对自己的缺点缺乏认识。她说，他的回答让董事们怀疑他是否能听取批评性意见，而这家机构对这一点非常看重。
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.
但因为这位申请人其他条件很好，董事会给了他第二次面试机会，并要求他对自己的缺点作更充分的说明。他说，他第一次面试时“对那个问题毫无准备，担心会说出什么大的致命缺陷，”随后，他向面试官提到自己在工作遇到危急关头时，往往会过于仓促地做出决策。董事会的担心消除了，最后安排他担任了这家非营利机构的负责工作。
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.
理想的情况是，你在回答中应尽量避免使用“缺点”这样的词，同时还可以提到改正措施。Maidenform Brands销售主管、《在面试中推销自己》(Sell Yourself in Any Interview)一书的作者阿德勒(Oscar Adler)说，将你最大的缺点转化为“机会之窗”，表明你的改善措施将使工作受益。比如他建议说，销售人员可以说，在强化数学能力后，销售业绩上升了。