Weakness? What Weakness?

Meredith Lavine, our resume doctor, checks in with the latest Career Q&A...

Interviewers often ask me "what is your greatest weakness" or what is your greatest disappointment? How do I answer that?

For starters, never say that you don't have a weakness or that you can't think of one. This is received poorly by interviewers. Everyone has weaknesses. Saying that you are a hard worker or a perfectionist are also trite. The other suggestion is to make sure you don't select a weakness that can be attributed to your character or work ethic or affect your performance for that particular job. Select a technical weakness that you are making strides with and the steps you are actively taking to fix it. Technical weaknesses are the easiest to fix. For example, "A weakness for me right now is getting up to speed on MS Project, and I am taking step x, y and z to flatten the learning curve so I can enhance my skills as a project manager." Or, "Sometimes, I get nervous presenting in public, so I am taking a Presentation Skills course and have joined Toastmasters to address it." Always follow up the weakness with the positive steps that you are taking to correct it and strive for self-improvement. Be positive presenting the steps you have taken to fix it.

CAUTION: Do not select a weakness that is a competency of the position for which you are interviewing!

Regarding professional "greatest disappointments", select one that was more or less beyond your control and where you can demonstrate the steps that you took to get the situation back on track. Be brief and succinct, don't ramble. Steer clear of negative language and show that you have accepted and learned from it.

Everyone says "have a backup plan" for the recession? What does that mean?

One can expect a lot of opinions regarding this question. Here are a few considerations:

Have an exit strategy: make sure your resume is up to date and that you are continually updating your skills and connecting with your professional networks. Keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities. Become active in professional organizations, volunteer to contribute content and present.

Don't limit your options: Explore careers and industries that are "cousins" to yours. Consider other ways of researching and delivering information if you are a librarian. Search for jobs by skill and not by title, you might be pleasantly surprised. Make a list of jobs that are interesting to you and research them. Look for jobs that are on the rise, or trends such as green companies.

Know your transferable skills: Identify and highlight skills that are useful across many disciplines and highlight them on your resume (customer service, internet research, technical skills, website design, supervisory experience, etc.).

Find something to pay the bills: Take an inventory of your skills and figure out what you can do to consult or take on a second position to earn some extra income. What have you done in the past to earn money? Are there opportunities to 'moonlight"? Maybe that will evolve into a new business venture (see below).

Consider starting your own business: Not everyone would agree but some of my clients are very entrepreneurial spirits and have come up with clever ideas to make money doing what they love. Make a list of businesses that you could feasibly start. Interview a bunch of entrepreneurs to see if this is the life for you.

Review your finances with an adviser: Seek advice from a financial adviser on protecting your assets, building up savings/retirement and budgeting.

Do I need to relocate to get a job?

It depends on the competitiveness of your industry. Many librarians (particularly academic) have relocated to get out of the saturated markets avail themselves of better opportunities in less competitive regions to gain the much needed experience in the field. Not everyone does this, but the more adventurous ones do. One could argue that there are more opportunities for those willing to relocate. That being said, not everyone is willing or in a position to make the move. Building experience of any kind is key. It is very important to take advantage of any internship, volunteering experience and networking opportunities. Start while you are in library school or as soon as you know you wish to make that transition. Remember to highlight transferable experiences that you had prior to attending library school. Talk through your goals and interests with a mentor or career counselor, who can help you examine the job market and your interests,and help you to translate them to similar jobs in other industries.

Check out more Career questions here.