[macguy6922]

I have an interview tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Not in my opinion, I wouldn't hire someone that said that, unless you had a really great answer as to what you have done about it.

I would say that “I am a perfectionist and I want everything to be perfect, I can sometimes be hard on myself”.

[Anonymous]

I agree with CPAPending…

My answer to this question is that I spend too much time on the aesthetics of Excel spreadsheets (i.e. bold/italics, making sure all rows and columns are the same width, colors, shading, etc.).

[littlenumberrobot]

Use a weakness you can turn into a positive somehow, like @Apbandj said. I used to say that I am too detail oriented, so that my excel sheets were totally missing the aesthetics, the calculation would be right, but hard to readers to follow.

Good luck!

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[Sandra]

I don't know- I do a fair bit of hiring and always ask that question. Saying “I'm a perfectionist” is a huge copout IMHO and although its not a deal breaker for me if everything else about the person fits it is annoying. Plus its the answer that 95% of applicants give.

What sort of job is it? My controller told me in the interview that she really struggled with some adjusting entries and as a result always had to double check her work. This wasn't an issue for me because she also told me how she dealt with it.

If I were you, I would pick a smaller weakness than “I'm disorganized” and follow it up immediately with your solution. Pick something less broad since the solutions for that are easier. If you are going for a tax job for example I think its ok to say “I don't fully grasp/have memorized/etc all the applicable rules for _____________, so I usually rely on ____________ to make sure the work I produce is accurate at all times”.

[misanthrope87]

Nah, don't use a real weakness. Use something that you can use as a positive, as others say. Say you need a broader and more challenging experiences or something.

B 2/12 87
A 11/11 90
R 8/11 86
F 5/12 88

[littlenumberrobot]

So…. @macguy6922. How did it go? And what did you end up saying?

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[kandisjoy]

No! Never say you're disorganized, that's a huge weakness. I like apbandj's response. You could also say something like “Sometimes I have a hard time leaving work at work, but I've been making a conscious effort to try to stop thinking about work once I get home” or something along those lines. That's a weakness, but it also shows that you are committed to your job.

I actually have used “I'm a perfectionist” as my weakness in interviews, because it's actually true for me. 😉

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[Author]

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