The Medicine Interview Preparation Megathread 2012 Entry

"What's your biggest weakness?"

"What's your biggest weakness?"

Turn your weakness into a strength!

This may seem like a paradox, but I would say something like 'I spend too much time making sure things are completed and are done properly'

This may seem like you have bad time managment skills, but in reality you are showing that you really care about patients, which is all good

I'm afraid to say this is a real cliché

true, but really there isnt much else to say. You're hardly going to say 'I struggle to remember things' as your weakness are you?

Anyways, with thousands applying to every university, everything in Medicine admissions is a cliche. It is near impossible to come up with something original.

and its better to come up with a cliche than nothing at all! (which can easily happen at interview if you just have a complete mind-blank )

It's fine to say that - as long as you can then say how you've managed to combat that weakness. Nobody is perfect, and not everyone is a perfectionist!

Would saying....having a tendency to pay too much attention to irrelevant things. For example I would try and analyse the full situation and not just look at the main points.


I am not really sure :s Hard question lol

Well, how do you work to deal with that weakness, although it does sound a lot like the "too much attention to detail" weakness that interviewers have probably heard hundreds of times. If you can work out how you deal with it it should be fine.

I don't want to come across shallow or anything but I don't really have a weakness .

Well, telling the interviewer that you have no weaknesses will come across as very arrogant and lacking in self-insight. You may want to think a little bit better about your strengths and weaknesses.

My greatest weakness is probably procrastination!

Isn't it a little too truthful . I cannot see a way to recover it back from that lol

Well, as someone who procrastinates a lot, I would say that as a result of this I have improved my organisational skills to compensate, so that I still make sure I get work done.

I would see it as, putting off important tasks to a later time. For example studying for final medical exams?

^is what I consider a definition of procrastinating is, isn't it?

Well yes, but if you make a plan in advance and force yourself to stick to it, you don't leave room to procrastinate.

I understand what you mean I do that all the time. I am just seeing it as how the interview will take it...

It's better than not responding I guess but I don't know I feel procrastinating is a bit of a no-no in medicine?