Tell me about a time you failed.
Some degree of failure is inevitable in a position that challenges you and forces you to grow. The interviewer is asking this behavioral question to get a better idea of how you respond to professional adversity, whether it's an unhappy client, a project gone awry, or a missed deadline. Use this question to demonstrate your ability to learn from your failures and to emphasize your dedication to ongoing professional improvement. While you should certainly give an honest answer that demonstrates your professional growth, avoid examples of deep mistakes that will reflect poorly on you.
"While I always strive for the best outcomes for my client, I can think of one situation in particular where I felt strongly that my team and I did not do enough for a client. We were overstretched in the scope of our work and did not devote sufficient time to the project. It was also my first experience managing a long-term client project. As the client lead, I took ownership of this failure and set up a meeting with my supervisor to discuss the mistakes made along the way, and we worked together to make a concrete plan to improve project management in the future. I now consider project management one of my strengths and learned a great deal about what not to do from this experience."
"A few months back, I created a project proposal that in the end did not address the root questions that needed to be addressed. I ended up having to completely redo the proposal. From this failure, I learned the importance of open and direct communication from the start of the project. I realized that I didn't ask sufficient clarifying questions from day one, and as a result, various miscommunications led to a proposal that missed the mark. I worked quickly to address my mistake and came up with a proposal that satisfied the client's goals. In addition, I've avoided such lapses in communication by being assertive and communicative right off the bat when it comes to diving into a new project."
