Interviews are an excellent way to show your personality and to connect with the hiring manager or interviewer on a one-on-one basis. There are a number of interview questions that are common enough that they may be worth preparing for ahead of time, including questions about your work history, connection with the company or work style. One such common interview question focuses on perfectionism in the workplace. In this article, we explain why employers ask the interview question “Are you a perfectionist?” and explain how to answer the question in three steps, plus provide five example answers.
If you answer that you’re a perfectionist, you might talk about why you consider yourself to be one or how being a perfectionist may have affected your work positively. It may be helpful to acknowledge the less positive aspects of perfectionism as well and explain how you navigate them at work.
Are YOU a Perfectionist? — Therapist Explains!
Why do employers ask the interview question “Are you a perfectionist?”
Employers may as this question at an interview to better understand who you are as a candidate. For instance, they may use your answer to assess your work ethic, drive and character. They may also ask this question to learn more about your personality. They may use what they learn to help determine how you might fit in with the existing office culture and how well youre likely to get along with your potential coworkers.
Interviewers may ask this question to explore how you think critically about complex questions and whether youve thought about your own work-related tendencies. This self-awareness may be helpful for the interviewer to note. They may look for candidates who have reflected on their personal work styles, as this can suggest improved decision-making and productivity.
Explain your answer
Whatever you choose as your answer, taking the time to explain it to your interviewer may help demonstrate your ability to reflect on your own workplace tendencies, the nature of perfectionism and the requirements of the job. If you answer that youre a perfectionist, you might talk about why you consider yourself to be one or how being a perfectionist may have affected your work positively. It may be helpful to acknowledge the less positive aspects of perfectionism as well and explain how you navigate them at work. This may help demonstrate a full understanding of the topic.
If you answer that youre not a perfectionist, you might explain what you see as the less helpful aspects of perfectionism and how your feeling toward perfectionistic tendencies may have developed over time. After doing this, it may be helpful to talk about what positive attributes you use in the workplace instead. This can help demonstrate that you understand the elements of perfectionism that are useful and are confident that you can perform well without identifying as a perfectionist.
Consider the job to which you’re applying
Before answering the question, consider the skills that are most relevant to the job to which youre applying. For highly technical jobs, it may be useful to express any perfectionistic tendencies because they might help you do the work carefully and effectively. For jobs that require lots of teamwork or quick delivery timelines, it may be useful to express a distance from perfectionistic tendencies, as these may make it more challenging to do those jobs well.
Example 5
“For me, I think my level of perfectionism depends on the situation. When Im in situations that require careful attention to detail and error-free products, I definitely can be a perfectionist. For instance, when Im editing an article, I think that my attitude of perfectionism helps me to do the best work possible, or if Im sending an important email out to a large email list, I always read over it at least twice.
For tasks that are less demanding, I think I do a good job of relaxing and maintaining a balance of self-care and productivity. For example, if I know that an article Im working on is in its first draft, Im able to focus on the overall concepts and know that I can fix the smaller details later. This helps me get a lot of work done while remaining motivated and energized.”
7 sample answers to “Are you a perfectionist?” interview question
Don’t say you’re a workaholic, instead…
Talk about a time you’ve pushed yourself too far. The true weakness for this point is that you struggle to maintain a healthy work/life balance. In today’s day and age, employers like candidates that are willing to put in extra hours. It’s not a weakness to go beyond the regular grind, but it becomes a problem when you begin to lose motivation.
Just know what kind of role you’re applying for before using this weakness. Some roles demand inflexible hours.
Perfectionist Meaning or Definition:
A person who is obsessive, too particular about their work and wants 100% perfection in the work done. But it is true that many people find it difficult to work with perfectionists.
When was the last time anyone enjoyed working with the person who was completely possessive about the work, very difficult to handle and not at all fun to work with. So, whenever a person is asked in the interview that, are you a perfectionist? never say yes.
So, if ever asked about you being a perfectionist, try and highlight your weakness, that may be strengths of others working in the company and how you improved on them to improve yourself. Here is the list of certain weaknesses which a person should present before the interviewer.
FAQ
Should you say you are a perfectionist?
How do I say I am a perfectionist?
Is being a perfectionist a good weakness for job interview?
