Strengths and weaknesses
By SuperdayReps · Michigan Ross Undergrad | Wharton MBA · ex-Citi | ex-Greenhill · Former Head Mentor at a Leading IB Prep Service
13 min read · updated October 28, 2026
"What is your greatest strength?" and "What is your greatest weakness?" are about as predictable as interview questions get. You know they are coming. Most candidates still answer them badly, and almost always in the same two ways: a strength with nothing behind it, and a weakness that is either fake or fatal.
Both get easier once you see what they are actually testing. Neither one is asking you to describe your personality. The strength question is asking for evidence. The weakness question is asking whether you can see yourself clearly and fix things, and whether the thing you are fixing is something the interviewer could live with on their team.
Prepare two of each, before you need them
Before the interview, write down two strengths and two weaknesses. Under each strength, a short story that proves it. Under each weakness, what it has cost you and what you are doing about it now.
Two, not one, because "give me another one" is one of the most common follow-ups in a first round. A candidate who delivers a sharp first weakness and then goes blank on the second has undone the first answer. Make the second of each about something genuinely different from the first, so it does not sound like the same answer twice.
These four are also the raw material for a whole family of other questions: why should we hire you, how would your manager describe you, are you smarter or harder working. Get the four right and most of those take care of themselves. There is more on that at the end.
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Frequently asked
- How do you answer 'what is your greatest strength' in an investment banking interview?
- Name one strength the analyst job actually uses, like staying reliable when a deadline moves up, being accurate, learning fast, or staying organized with a lot on your plate. Then prove it with one short story that contains a specific fact: a deadline, a number, a result. About 45 to 60 seconds. Stop on the result and let the interviewer draw the conclusion, rather than adding a line about why it matters for banking.
- What is a good weakness to give in a banking interview?
- A real one the job barely tests in the first years, like speaking to a large room, or one where the fix means taking on more, like being slow to put your hand up for the lead or staying quiet in team meetings. Avoid anything an associate or VP can picture going wrong on their deal: carelessness with numbers, missed deadlines, holding work too long, asking for help too late, or taking on more than you can handle.
- Can I say perfectionism is my weakness?
- No. Interviewers have heard every disguised strength, and 'I am a perfectionist' or 'I work too hard' tells them you dodged the question. It can also backfire on its own terms, because perfectionism on a deal team usually looks like holding work too long, which is one of the weaknesses that rules you out.
- How long should a weakness answer be?
- Under a minute. Spend roughly the first fifth naming the weakness and one moment where it cost you something, and the rest on what you changed and the evidence the change is working. The weakness sets the story up. The fix is the story.
- What if they ask for another weakness?
- Have a second one ready, built the same way and about something different from the first. 'Give me another one' is one of the most common follow-ups in a first round, and going blank on it undoes a good first answer. The same goes for strengths.