Interviewer: Tell me about a time that you failed to complete an assignment on time.
Carly: One time, I had a project that was due on Thursday. On Tuesday, I analyzed my progress and I saw that I was ahead of schedule. However, on Wednesday, my manager was sick, so I had to attend several meetings instead of her. Because of that, I was unable to finish the project that was due on Thursday.
Interviewer: What did you do?
Carly: I went to my boss and I told the truth. I explained the situation and said that if I could have one more day, then I could finish the project. My boss understood and it was not a big deal.
Interviewer: Did you learn anything from this situation?
Carly: Definitely. Now, I always try to finish my projects two or three days before they are due. I want to be safe in case something unexpected comes up.
Interviewer: I think that is a responsible habit to have.
Patterns and Examples
Once, I failed to ____________________ on time. I had to ____________________.
- Once I failed to complete an order for an important client on time. I had to apologize to them and to explain that it was more important to take some extra time and make sure everything was perfect.
- Once, I failed to submit a report to my boss on time. I had to explain to my boss that I was still waiting on important information that was necessary to complete the report.
One time, I was unable to ____________________ before the deadline. I ____________________.
- One time, I was unable to finish a report before the deadline. I explained the situation to my boss and asked for a short extension, and then I worked all weekend to complete the report.
- One time, I was unable to finish a report for my manager before the deadline. I explained to my manager that I would need more time in order to do my best work.
One time, ____________________. This made it impossible for me to finish my work on time. So, I ____________________.
- One time, there was a major storm and we could not receive our raw materials for production. This made it impossible for me to finish my work on time. So, I waited until the materials came, and then I worked overtime every day to catch up on the work.
- One time, I could not finish a report because I was waiting on a company’s financial data to be released. This made it impossible for me to finish my work on time. So, I prepared everything I could and then waited for the data. Once I got the data, I quickly added it to my report and then submitted it.
