What Is the Best Way to Answer "What Skills Would You Like to Improve?" in an Interview?

Answering "What skills would you like to improve?" effectively can turn a potential weakness into a compelling strength. Based on our assessment experience, a well-crafted response demonstrates self-awareness, a growth mindset, and genuine interest in the role, significantly boosting your candidacy. This article provides a step-by-step framework with real-world examples to help you prepare an honest and impressive answer.

Why Do Interviewers Ask About Skills You Want to Improve?

This common interview question, often categorized as a behavioral interview question, serves several key purposes for employers. Understanding the intent behind the question allows you to tailor your answer to meet their underlying objectives.

• To Assess Self-Awareness: Recruiters want to see if you can honestly evaluate your own abilities. A thoughtful answer shows you understand your professional development needs, which is the first step toward growth.
• To Gauge Coachability and Growth Potential: Your response indicates your willingness to learn and accept feedback. Employers invest in employees who are motivated to improve, increasing the talent retention rate.
• To Understand Your Understanding of the Role: Choosing a skill relevant to, but not a core requirement of, the position shows you've analyzed the job description deeply and are thinking about how to add long-term value.

How Do You Choose the Right Skill to Discuss?

Selecting the appropriate skill is critical. The goal is to identify an area for development that is authentic, manageable, and aligns with future growth within the company, not a fundamental flaw.

1. Conduct a Personal Skills Audit: Start by listing your skills, categorizing them by proficiency and frequency of use. Identify areas of confidence and those you'd like to develop.
2. Avoid Critical Job Requirements: Never select a skill that is essential for the day-to-day functions of the role. For example, a graphic designer should not choose "proficiency in Adobe Illustrator."
3. Opt for Complementary or Forward-Looking Skills: Choose a skill that complements your strengths or prepares you for future responsibilities. For an individual contributor applying for a team lead role, "mentoring junior colleagues" or "delegation skills" are excellent choices.

What Is the Best Structure for Your Answer?

A structured approach ensures your answer is clear, concise, and impactful. We recommend using a modified version of the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to frame your response.

1. State the Skill Clearly: Directly identify the skill you wish to improve.
2. Provide Context and Self-Awareness: Briefly explain why you've chosen this skill. You might reference a past experience where having this skill would have been beneficial.
3. Detail Your Action Plan: This is the most important part. Explain the concrete steps you are taking or plan to take to improve. This demonstrates initiative.
4. Connect to the Role: Articulate how improving this skill will allow you to contribute more effectively to the prospective role and team.

Can You Provide Examples of Effective Answers?

Here are three examples tailored to different professions, demonstrating the framework in action.

Example 1: For a Marketing Coordinator "One area I'm actively working to develop is my data analysis skills. While I'm confident in executing campaigns, I want to get better at interpreting the results to make more data-driven decisions. For instance, in my last role, I managed a social media campaign that exceeded engagement targets. To improve, I've enrolled in an online course on Google Analytics to better understand user behavior. I believe strengthening this skill will allow me to optimize future campaigns more effectively and demonstrate a greater return on investment for the team at ok.com."

Example 2: For a Software Developer "I would like to deepen my skills in public speaking and technical presentation. I'm very comfortable discussing complex problems with my immediate team, but I want to become more effective at presenting technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. I've started volunteering to lead our team's sprint demos, and I'm practicing techniques to simplify explanations. I see this as a valuable skill for collaborating across departments at ok.com and ensuring project alignment."

Example 3: For a Project Manager "I'm focused on enhancing my conflict mediation skills. While I'm proficient at timeline and budget management, I believe that proactively managing interpersonal dynamics within a team leads to even better outcomes. I've been studying different mediation frameworks and have been seeking opportunities to facilitate discussions between team members with differing viewpoints. My goal is to create a more collaborative environment where issues are resolved quickly, ultimately leading to higher project success rates."

What Are the Key Tips for Success?

Be Authentic and Honest. Your answer should reflect a genuine area for improvement. Fabricating a weakness can be easily detected by an experienced interviewer. Focus on Professional Skills. Keep the discussion centered on work-related abilities, not personal traits. Demonstrate Proactive Learning. Show that you've already taken steps to improve. This moves the conversation from a weakness to a current initiative. Maintain a Positive Frame. Present the skill as an area of exciting growth, not a debilitating weakness. Keep it Concise. Aim for an answer that lasts about 60-90 seconds.

By preparing a structured, honest, and forward-looking response, you transform a challenging question into a powerful opportunity to showcase your professionalism and potential.