Job Interview: When Did You Make A Mistake?

By Selipha Kihagi

When the recruiter or interviewer asks this question, you must remember not to freak out. You might not have prepared for this specific question in your interview preparation, but all you will need is to understand what recruiters want to know.

Recruiters are looking to use your answer for this question to evaluate how you react or deal with bad situations. It is not about how grave or small the mistake was, it is what you did after. Employers know that mistakes are inevitable, but how you handle each one is what will matter to the recruiter.

So, when was a time you did something wrong?

To best answer this interview question and impress the recruiter, give an example of a mistake you made then explain how you dealt with it. Here are tips on how to go about the question.

1. Be honest
Do not say you’ve never done something wrong; this will only bring you out as a liar or a person who does not take initiative. You might be tempted to craft a lie as an example of a time you did wrong because the question caught you off guard, don’t! Your interviewer will always tell when you’re lying.

Recruiters are better placed to identify with a person who is honest during job interviews; honesty is a great attribute in any job.

2. Be as specific as you can be
Recruiters and employers are intrigued by the small details in your little story, so give your interviewer exactly that. For example, if in your last job you missed an important deadline that cost the company a client, detail what kind of project it was and why the client left. This way, the interviewer can understand you with ease.

Also, take full responsibility for the mistake made without laying blame to anybody else. Interviewers should relate to you as an individual, not as a team, so make sure you bring out exactly that.

3. Tell the employer how you handled the mistake and the outcome
Once you have told the employer of a time you did something wrong, don’t stop there. It is never about what you did but how you reacted later or the measures you took. So, let the interviewer or recruiter know of your problem solving skills by demonstrating how you dealt with a mistake at your former job.

For example, when you missed the deadline and lost a client, what did you do to show your employer you are still valuable? Did you come up with a strategy to work on future projects and did it bring in new clients? Little secret: Explain how the mistake made you better at your job and enhanced your skills.

A good answer would be;

“When I worked as a Procurement Officer at XYZ Company, I missed a major deadline and could not deliver a client’s order in the timeline given, which lead the company to lose a client. I later developed a working strategy through a spreadsheet that detailed all projects I was working on and indicated specific deadlines for each task. With this strategy, I have not missed any deadline since then.”

Would you like assistance for your next interview, contact melody@corporatestaffing.co.ke