Job Interview Tips (Part 23):Tell me about a time you failed

In this week’s video, we’re going to go over how to answer “tell me about a time you failed”. That’s coming up.

Hi guys, I’m Kim with Snagajob, your number one source for hourly jobs and welcome to our weekly advice show.

Job interview questions can be scary and a little intimidating, especially ones like “tell me about a time you failed”. Trust us, the employer won’t believe you if you say you’ve never failed before. They know that things don’t always go as planned so don’t feel like answering honestly will backfire or cost you the job.

Steer clear of answers like:

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve always been this perfect. Plus, I usually put the blame on my co workers if something goes wrong.”

“...This is a trick question, isn’t it? Haha, you got me! You little comedian, you.”

“There’s too many times to choose from. I’m just an epic fail.”

This question is more for the employer to see how you recover than to pick apart your failure. Instead of harping on the negative, focus on the positive aspects of how you turned the situation around and what you learned along the way.

“Once I missed a deadline because my team and I failed to overcome scheduling conflicts. However, we went into overdrive to make sure the project was completed the following week. In the end, I realized that procrastination hurt us and could be avoided by taking initiative and getting started early.”

This answer shows you’re honest about your mistakes, but you also know how to learn from them and that is what will make you a great employee.