Interviewer: Tell about a time you made a mistake.
Greg: Sure. One time, I was given a project by my manager. I thought I understood what I had to do, but there was one part that I was not completely sure about. But I decided not to ask my boss for clarification. After completing the project, my manager told me that I had done a part of the project incorrectly. And of course, it was the section that I had not been completely sure about. So, I had to go back and fix it. This mistake put our team three days behind schedule.
Interviewer: What did you learn from this situation?
Greg: I learned to ask for clarification if I am not completely sure about something. It is better to ask and be sure than to make a big mistake. And since then, I have never made the same mistake again. I think that one of my strengths is that I learn quickly from my past experiences.
Interviewer: That is good to hear. Mistakes can really help us learn and grow as people if we pay attention to them.
Greg: I completely agree with that.
Patterns and Examples
When I was just starting my career, I ____________________. I ____________________. This experience ____________________.
- When I was just starting my career, I forgot to include an important document in my report. I had to go back and add it, and then I had to apologize to all of my senior colleagues. This experience taught me to double check everything before sending out an important piece of work.
- When I was just starting my career, I mixed up my client’s work and I presented the wrong material to a client. I was very embarrassed and I apologized profusely, and I visited this client the following day with a detailed and complete presentation. This experience taught me to be extra careful.
I ____________________ when I was a new employee at my previous company. After that, I ____________________.
- I forgot to get a customer’s signature on an important document and we almost ended up losing that customer when I was a new employee at my previous company. After that, I never forgot any documents again.
- I missed an important deadline for a sales report to my boss because I forgot the deadline when I was a new employee at my previous company. After that, I made sure to write all of the important deadlines and dates in my calendar.
I made a mistake at my first job by ____________________. I learned ____________________ from this experience.
- I made a mistake at my first job by not taking a senior colleagues advice and making a mistake on a project. I learned to take advice from my senior colleagues from this experience.
- I made a mistake at my first job by planning my project poorly which caused many problems throughout the life of the project. I learned the importance of planning from this experience.
