Interview Tips from The Cubicle Coach

Dear Cubicle Coach: I've got a job interview coming up, and I know they're going to ask the "What's your biggest weakness?" question. It's a cop-out to respond, "Working too hard," so what can I say that doesn't sound like BS?

Dear Interviewee: Stay away from "I tend to go facedown after too many Rolling Rocks at lunch." The interviewer is looking as much at how you respond as at what you actually say, so you can try deflecting the question with humor - "My port-wine reduction tends to congeal." Or - little-known fact - you can duck the question entirely: "Mr. Scott, we all have weaknesses; I'd rather talk about the many positives I can bring to Dunder Mifflin," or, "I wouldn't call it a weakness, but in the next year, I'd like to advance my presentation skills to a superior level." After all, part of the job-interview dance is putting out about yourself what you want. Of course, the interviewer's job is to twirl you away from that, so, if ducking doesn't work, there's always, "I overresearch, take on too many projects, am too eager to help my colleagues." It's legit, and can be a problem, but for you - not for The Man's quarterly profit.