How to effectively share your failures with employers to highlight your strong work ethic and ace that interview.
You鈥檙e here. Game face is on. You鈥檝e done your due diligence and have researched the organization. You鈥檝e practiced responses to expected prompts and questions such as, 鈥淭ell me about yourself鈥, 鈥淲hy do you want to work here in this role?鈥, and 鈥淒o you have any questions for us?鈥. Whether virtual or in-person, this interview is going to go well because you are confident and ready to share your best professional self with the hiring committee.
This brief, 20-minute conversation is indeed going well. You鈥檝e given examples to their behavioral questions that prove you to be an asset to the role, department, and organization. Then, they ask you to describe a time when you failed and you鈥檙e blindsided thinking, 鈥淥h, wow, I was not expecting this question鈥. To remain calm and confident, you鈥檙e contemplating discussing a time where the failure wasn鈥檛 even 鈥渢hat big of a deal鈥. But that鈥檚 not what the hiring committee is after by asking this question. It鈥檚 important to be honest about a time when your actions did not yield expected results for a given task. The committee really wants to know here how you responded to failure (e.g. resilience, responsibility, integrity).
Your gift shines through even in, or perhaps especially in, response to adversity. for respecting them with an honest answer. So, the decision of whether or not to present yourself as perfect, never having failed, becomes less appealing to you and you decide to 鈥渄o the hard thing鈥. Reflecting on a moment at work, a class project, or even during a volunteering experience, you explain a situation that discloses a time in which you failed. It鈥檚 okay to have failed. Every human has failed, even the ones on the hiring committee.
There is hidden beauty about this question or questions similar to it such as, 鈥淒escribe your greatest weakness鈥, 鈥淒escribe a time when you had a conflict with someone鈥, or 鈥淒escribe a time when you鈥檝e received negative feedback鈥. Let me show you how!
Here鈥檚 how you do it: You get to walk employers through a situation that wasn鈥檛 great and didn鈥檛 meet your or others鈥 expectations. Answer with a smile and with confidence that the further amplify you as an asset to this role, department, and organization.
- Describe the situation. Who was involved, what was your role, and where and why did it occur?
- Tell the committee what tasks were assigned to you. Provide an overview of the type of goals or challenges presented by the situation.
- Explain your specific actions taken. What did you do individually or in collaboration with others to complete this assignment?
- Display integrity. Discuss the results as they happened 鈥 no filler, no fluff, no embellishment. Did you meet, exceed, or mismanage your actions needed to resolve the challenges of the situation?
- Be reflective in your storytelling. What did you learn about yourself throughout the process? What would you do differently if you were in a similar situation in the future?
This framework transforms what may seem like a 鈥減ersonal failure鈥 into a tangible 鈥減rofessional area for improvement鈥 to which you then delineate tangible action steps you鈥檝e taken since the event to increase your knowledge regarding this and similar skills in the future.
At this point, it鈥檚 out there. They鈥檝e heard your flaws. But the more important outcome is that the committee has heard your commitment to learning and development. You can rest assured that despite the urge to succumb to the , you have indeed presented your best professional self, ready to take on future challenges as an ethical, responsible, and resilient leader.