One thing that still holds true is that finding a job and finding a good one are two very different things. Jobs are actually quite easy to find, but if you want to be truly successful in your search, focus on finding a good job that will help develop your career.
Most interviewers want to talk about your weaknesses not because they’re trying to trip you up but because they genuinely want to be sure you’re a good fit for the job. They hope to avoid putting you in a job where you’ll struggle, and they definitely don’t want to have to fire you a few months from now. Assuming you want to land a position where you’ll thrive, this should be your goal too—and straightforwardness is more likely to get you there.
So then, how to answer?
The best plan of attack is a two-part response. First, think seriously about your weak points. What have you struggled with in the past? What have past managers encouraged you to do differently? If you could wave a magic wand over your head and change something about your work skills or persona, what would it be?
And here’s part two: What are you doing about it?
Your answer should consist of both parts. It might sound something like this: “When I first started in the work world, I found I wasn’t as naturally organized as I wanted to be. Without a system to keep track of all the tasks I was juggling, I had trouble keeping all of the balls in the air. So now I make lists religiously and check them every morning and every afternoon to make sure that nothing has slipped through the cracks and all my priorities are in line. I’ll never give up my lists, because I know that without them, my natural state is a less organized one.”
No one is going to be shocked to hear you have some professional weaknesses; we all do. The question is how those weaknesses will affect how you fit with this particular position, and that’s something you should be interested in, too.