Just wanted to know what people think good weaknesses are, ie. ones that don't make you seem completely incompetent. Also, in case interviews, their seems a pervading ethos that it's good to 'stick to your guns'. Is this really true? In that environment you are more likley to make mistakes, so it seems hard to tell when the interviewier is testing your tenacity or is really suggesting a deviation away from a path that is a dead. I know you should be able to have explanations to back up your ideas, but how far should this be taken?

There are no such things as good weaknesses. My weaknesses are Blue Label and the occasional Marlboro Light. They certainly do not affect my approach to work. You have to be realistic in that any weakness is going to affect your chances as a sound proposition. The trick is to make sure that a weakness appears as a strength. For example - "one area of weakness is my determination to get a job done and the impact this mau have on my own work/life balance" etc.I have interviewed many, many staff and the number of times they give me a weakness that actually is a weakness! On to the next - who doesn't.