How to Answer the Most Hated Interview Question

Ever been asked, What’s your biggest weakness? and thought—how do I answer that without sounding useless or fake? In this episode of The Jest Business, we tackle one of the most annoyingly common interview questions, with all the seriousness it doesn’t deserve. We share the worst ways to answer it, the best fake flaws that still land the job, and how to turn your overachieving into humble bragging gold. If you’ve ever flubbed an interview or faked your way through one, this one’s for you!

Discussion Topics: How to Answer the Most Hated Interview Question

• Welcome to the corporate circus—where jargon is king and humour is policy.
• The world’s dumbest interview question—and why it still haunts us.
• Warning: This is how not to answer a weakness question (unless you enjoy flinging coffee).
• Confessions of a charming procrastinator—you might relate too much.
• The one word that turns a flaw into a flex (and saves your interview).
• The “centipede move”: camouflage your ambition and still come out shining.
• Got called out for being a workaholic? Here’s how to spin it into gold.
• Flip the script: what happens when you ask the boss about their flaws?
• “Sell me this pen”—and other classics from the theatre of the absurd.
• The most-read piece in The Economist… and it’s all about making fun of business.

Our Host: Rahul Phondke & Paddy Rangappa

Rahul Phondke has been a prolific writer of humour columns since his childhood days which ended sometime last year. People are still wondering how this happened. He turned to writing humour at an early age in an effort to find some meaning to the angst of life, which he found almost immediately after his first two cans of beer. Based in Singapore, he is extremely sought after by the locals …unfortunately most of whom happen to be the police. He is an active member on Facebook and can be easily reached…unless he happens to owe you money.

Paddy Rangappa has worked in marketing for more than twenty-six years. After over a decade in Procter & Gamble in India, Indonesia, and Singapore, he became vice president, brand development for McDonald’s in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMEA) and developed strategies to significantly grow breakfast, beverages, and desserts, especially the McCafé brand, across APMEA. Outside work, Paddy is an avid tennis player and a freelance writer. He has also taught Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) to senior undergraduates and MBA students at the Singapore Management University (SMU). He is the author of Been There Bungled That and Spark.