How to Answer “Tell Me About a Time When You Made a Mistake”
Admitting, taking responsibility, and learning from mistakes is normal for any employee accustomed to risk-taking and pushing the limits of their potential. Personal development happens when you put yourself in stressful and challenging situations. Someone who has never made a mistake is lazily coasting through life.
You need to answer this behavioural question honestly and bravely. Mistakes happen, so this is a time to show you can be vulnerable.
Share a significant mistake, but without crushing financial or team consequences.
Mention the mistake, the solution and what you learned. You should include the error and the journey you took to correct it. Mistakes are only unforgivable when repeated, so maybe even talk about getting it right the next time.
Don’t shift responsibility onto someone else. Choose an example where the fault was yours alone. Don’t muddy the waters by talking about collective responsibility. Keep it simple and show how you grew due to what you learned.
Choose a significant mistake. Don’t avoid judgement by choosing a minor clerical error – the magnitude of the mistake matters. Take it on the chin and don’t try to justify your decisions.
Made a mistake? Learn anything?
Avoid mistakes that reveal character flaws or moral failures. Ensure that your example is strictly business related and cannot be interpreted to show any ongoing issue with your morals or character (they are notoriously hard to change). It must be easily rectified.
Use the STAR technique to structure your reply. If you have read any job search literature, you will understand the STAR method by now. Outline the (S)ituation, (T)ask, (A)ction and (R)esult. You need to keep your answer to this question concise to move on.
Don’t panic if they start digging. You should expect the interviewer to push for further details once you have finished your initial answer. Leave a few aspects of your solution in reserve to ensure you have something else to say. Keep calm and answer honestly.
Mention the mistake later in the interview. You might get the chance later in the interview to refer to something you did that showed you learned from the error. This demonstrates that you value the potential learning involved.
No one enjoys talking about mistakes, but this question is about showing self-awareness rather than saying what a terrible employee you were.
If your answer shows that you understood why you made a mistake and took steps to ensure it didn’t happen again, your future boss will be satisfied that you have what it takes to thrive through adversity.
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This blog is shared with Job Seeker Duetists.
Written by former recruitment ghostwriter Paul Drury (not AI).
