How to answer "what are your strengths and weaknesses", with examples
How to pick a strength and a real weakness for a job interview, with examples and sample answers for jobs in the Philippines and Malaysia.
6 min read. Updated . By Catalyst Outsourcing.
Almost every interview asks about your strengths and weaknesses, either as one question or as two. Both halves test the same thing: whether you know how you work, and whether that fits this job.
What the interviewer wants to learn
For strengths, they want one this job needs, with proof that it's true. For weaknesses, they want honesty and a fix. Coursera's guide puts the weakness half in one line: "The key to talking about your weaknesses is to pair self-awareness with an action and a result."
A plain answer with one real example beats a polished one with none.
How to pick a strength to talk about
- Read the job post and list the skills it mentions more than once.
- Pick the one you can prove with a story from work, school or freelance jobs.
- Put a number in the story: emails a day, videos a week, invoices a month.
The posts tell you what clients look for. Of the 31 jobs open on DayShift on 7 October 2026, 19 asked for someone who works independently or proactively, 17 for someone organised, and 15 for attention to detail.
Strengths worth naming for a remote job
- Attention to detail: a report, invoice or caption you check twice, and a mistake you caught before the client saw it.
- Organisation: how you name files, keep a calendar and track tasks.
- Working on your own: how you plan your day and tell the client what you finished.
- Clear written English: replies a client sends without changing a word.
- Learning tools fast: a tool you picked up in a week or two, such as Canva, CapCut or a CRM.
- Staying calm with customers: a call or chat that went badly and how you handled it.
- Reliability: your record on deadlines, and your backup plan for a brownout.
Sample answers about your strengths
These are made-up examples with invented names. Use the shape, then put in your own story.
Example: Liza, admin assistant, Quezon City
"I'm organised. I keep my manager's calendar and our shared drive, and I name every file by date and client, so nobody has to ask me where something is. When she was sick for a week last year, the team ran her meetings from my notes without calling her once."
Example: Paolo, video editor, Cebu
"I learn tools fast. A client switched us from Premiere to CapCut last year, and I was editing their Reels in it within a week, captions and all. I keep a list of shortcuts for each tool, which is how I get up to speed."
Example: Bea, fresh graduate, Bulacan
"I work well on my own. In my last year of college I ran our org's Facebook page with nobody checking my posts. I planned each month in a Google Sheet and posted every weekday, and I only missed two days, both during finals."
Good weaknesses to admit, and how to say them
Pick something real that won't stop you doing this job, then say what you do about it. Coursera warns against a "lightweight response, such as 'I work too hard' or 'I care too much'", and against naming a weakness in a skill the role needs.
- Saying yes to too much at once. Now you give a delivery time before you start.
- Speaking up in big meetings. Now you write your points down before the call.
- A tool you haven't used yet, such as Xero or After Effects. Say which free course you're taking to learn it.
- Asking for help too late. Now you ask after 30 minutes of being stuck.
- Checking your work too slowly. Now you use a short checklist so it takes less time.
Sample answers about your weaknesses
Example: Joy, customer service, Davao
"I used to wait too long to ask for help. I'd spend an hour on a refund problem a teammate could fix in five minutes. Now if I'm stuck for 30 minutes I ask, and I write down the answer so I don't need to ask twice."
Example: Carlo, general VA, Laguna
"I haven't used Xero yet. My last client used QuickBooks, and the steps are similar, so I started a free online course in Xero this week. I'm about halfway through."
Example: Paolo, video editor, Cebu
"I said yes to every edit request the same day, and my bigger projects slipped. Now every request goes on a Trello board with a delivery date before I start. I've missed one deadline in six months since, and I told the client two days ahead."
Weaknesses to leave out
- A weakness in the job's main skill, like an appointment setter who doesn't like phone calls.
- "I'm a perfectionist" or "I work too hard", unless you have a real example and a fix. On their own they sound rehearsed, and the interviewer learns nothing about you.
- Personal or health problems, unless they change the hours you can work.
- A weakness with no fix. Always end on what you do about it now.
Read the job post again before you choose. The weakness that's harmless for a video editor might sink a bookkeeper.
One sample answer that covers both
When they ask both in one breath, answer the strength first, then the weakness, and end on the fix.
"My strength is staying calm on the phone. I booked appointments for a property developer in KL for a year, about 60 calls a day, and most of the people I called hadn't been expecting me. My weakness is long reports: I used to write too much. Now I send the client three bullet points at the end of each day instead, and they've told me they read every one." (Example: Aisyah, appointment setter, Kuala Lumpur)
Strengths often come up again near the end, as "why should we hire you": here's how to answer "why should we hire you". For the camera, the call and what to send after, read our job interview tips for remote jobs. Every other common question, with a sample answer, is on our page of common interview questions and answers. Ready to apply? See open jobs.
Questions
How many strengths should I name?
One, or two at most, each with a short story. Three strengths with no proof sound like a list you memorised.
Can I name a personal weakness?
Yes, if it's about how you work, like speaking up in meetings or asking for help late. Leave out private matters such as health or family.
What if they ask for three weaknesses?
Have a second and third ready from the list above, each with its fix. Keep them small and real.
How long should my answer be?
About a minute for each half. Name it, give one example, say what you do about it, then stop.
Sources
- Coursera, 10 Examples of Strengths and Weaknesses for Job Interviews, https://www.coursera.org/articles/strengths-and-weaknesses-interview, read 7 October 2026
- Indeed, How To Talk About Strengths and Weaknesses in an Interview, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/interview-question-what-are-your-strengths-and-weaknesses, read 7 October 2026
- DayShift job board, skills named in the 31 open job posts, https://dayshiftjobs.com/jobs, read 7 October 2026