I've been asked it maybe half of my interviews. If you're going for an interview, be ready for this one. I've had at least one interviewer be very persistent about it.

There should be an equivalent question for interviewees to ask - how about "what is your company's greatest weakness?" Or "what would be the worst part about working here?"

Being on the other end of the table sometimes, no one has asked this question, but they really should. It is actually a much better question than asking the interviewee "What is your greatest weakness?".

I think the sorts of questions an interviewee asks is more revealing than any sort of digging you might do with the standard bullshit interview questions.

I always ask that question of the interviewer in the form of "What aspect of your job is causing you the most pain?" It almost always gets a frank discussion of the problems the group is facing. I also ask about funding, profitability and business model.

When still a college student I went cold into an interview for a very senior position (slated to start after graduation). I am sure I answered all technical questions correctly, but I certainly gave the wrong answer to this specific question - which (along with showing up in a suite for an Internet company interview and several other things) gave the impression that I'm too "fresh" for a position like this.

Three to four months later (and two or so months before graduating - much closer time-line) I sat down with a hiring manager at a big-co and went over such stock questions and their purpose and interviewed for a different position at the same company which required the same skill set and level - and got the position.

I would say my answer to this question is always honest, but I'll never ask the question myself.

I ask it to every candidate, because I have a form from HR with a list of questions I have to ask that's one of them. I tick the box and move swiftly on.

My own stock answer is "sometimes I have trouble delegating".