Every Rose Has it's Thorns

Today I want to ask for your help. Since I've been actively job hunting and anticipating upcoming interviews, I'm trying to prepare for those interviews as best I can. One of the typical questions that interviewers like to ask is, "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Today I'll focus on weakness. It's a fair question but I dread the fact that I have to tell them why they might not want to hire me. I am flawed, and I might not be your most qualified candidate, but I don't want you to find out until after you hire me!

Just kidding. Sort of.

Ok, so I've read that the trick is to identify a weakness but then turn it into a strength--or at least put a positive spin on it. I'm wondering what is my "best" weakness for this question. What do you think?

Note to future employers: I don't want to spoil the surprise for you, so just stop reading. Thanks.

• I'm a perfectionist. This translates to, "I can be nit-picky and anal about a lot of things that may or may not be important." This answer is what I usually chose in past interviews because I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. It can be annoying to those type B personalities, but being a perfectionist can also mean....dddddddddddddd (drumroll)....DETAIL ORIENTED! Which is of course what you'll see as a desired quality on 90% of all job postings. It's true that I am a detail oriented and organized person. I see that as a strength.
• I'm not a huge people person/I'm sometimes shy/Don't love meeting new people. I can be a really fun person to know, but I don't enjoy hanging out with strangers, and I'm rarely make the first move. Don't misinterpret shy as unfriendly, because truth is, I'm a real friendly gal. :)  I guess you could say that it just takes me a while to get warmed up. So, how would this affect my work? It translates to, "I'm used to working alone, and I'm a self-starter because of it." As it turns out, I've worked alone at my most recent jobs, and I like it. 
• I lack experience. More specifically, I lack experience working in a professional graphic design workplace. Lack of experience is a common weakness among recent college grads I think. The competitive job market means we're competing with older, more experienced professionals for the same jobs: tough. How do I make up for this weakness? Willingness to learn. Or should I say that I'm a quick learner? Hmmm.
• I tend to ramble when I talk. I'm pretty sure I get this from my mom. Love you! Maybe I only ramble in my head...when I talk to myself..or when I write. If you get me going on something I can get pretty talkative. Maybe this isn't an issue...
• I pretend to be a know-it-all. Sometimes. I'm just talking about general information, not necessarily design. I'm aware that I still have a lot to learn there. I don't know if any of my friends are aware of this (they probably are but are nice enough that they don't care). For instance, if my husband asks me a question about a subject and I don't really know the answer, sometimes I'll give him my best guess and act like it's totally right. Or if we find out something together, and he asks me if I knew about that, I'll be like, "Yeah, duh! Where've you been?" Not really. That's a little harsh, but do you get the idea? Sorry, honey. How could this be a job strength? Well, it means I can b.s. my way through almost anything. Comes in handy for speaking and college essay tests......

Well. Have you had enough? If you know me, you're probably thinking of ten million other weakness that I need to own up to. Go ahead and share with the group if you'd like to get back at me for being a thorn in your side all these years.

So if I have any HR friends out there, I'd appreciate your input. Or if you've recently dealt with this question at an interview and have advice for what to do or not do, let's hear it! In my next entry I'm going to ask you for help with my strengths, so do your homework!

Thanks!