How do you respond to tell me about a time you have received a piece of feedback?

Question

I understand you need to show coachability here but the issue I have is that all of my pieces of feedback directly relate to consulting traits - that i don't want to expose as weaknesses.

E.g. I have received feedback mentioning I am very enthusiastic to take on new work, but I should assess my capacity before agreeing to it.

Alternatives include, getting a piece of feedback to check with other stakeholders other commitments - I worked with a legal team and thought one week was enough time for them to look at something, without realising that was a very busy week for them.

Alterantivly I could talk about feedback i got on how to build a coalition before proposing a new idea.

Answer 1

Hi there,

This is a very common concern. Interviewers aren’t looking for a lack of weaknesses, they’re looking for self-awareness and coachability. You don’t need to avoid consulting-related feedback, you just need to frame it well.

The safest approach is to pick feedback where a strength was slightly miscalibrated, then show what you changed. Your example about overcommitting due to enthusiasm works well if you emphasize learning to assess capacity, flag trade-offs, and communicate constraints. That signals maturity, not weakness. The stakeholder timing example is also strong if framed around learning to align early on constraints and pressure-test assumptions. Coalition-building feedback works especially well for senior roles as it shows growth in influence and stakeholder management.

Avoid feedback that suggests core gaps in problem solving or ownership. Focus on style, prioritization, or stakeholder management, and clearly explain how the feedback changed your behavior.

Best,
Evelina

Answer 2

Everybody has weaknesses / areas of development.

Those interviewing you know that. And they can also easily sniff a 'fake' weakness that you're communicating just for the sake of the interview.

So instead of playing defence, I'd rather encourage you to think of the one feedback area that you addressed the best. i.e., one thing on which you were told to improve and you did do that and now you can walk us through that example.

Honesty goes very very far.

Best,
Cristian