Tell me about a time you fell behind in your work.
"I was on vacation when a group project was announced. One member of the group claimed responsibility to inform me and get me up to speed when I returned to work the next day. I took notes as they relayed the details to me of what we needed to accomplish, deadlines and all. I handed them my notes for them to review to make sure everything looked good. They gave me the thumbs up. Where I failed to pad the job was to run my notes by my supervisor and make sure nothing was missed. But I didn't. My supervisor even came by and asked if I was up to speed, which I said I was, and they said if I had questions to let them know. The next week they announced in a group meeting that the deadline was coming up at the end of the week and wanted to check in on the progress of each individual on the team. The person who brought me up to speed, and I expressed we thought we had another week before our deadlines. This was not correct. So we were both running behind. I don't blame them for miscommunicating this detail, nor do I blame my supervisor for not verifying this information. I blame myself for not clarifying. We met our deadline, but we had to work late a couple of days in a row, and our supervisor had to stay late waiting for us to turn in our work so we could meet the deadline the following morning. It wasn't ideal. But knowing what I know now, and how I would've handled things differently, I haven't made a mistake like it since."
The circumstance behind the example you provide could reveal resourceful thinking and excellent strategies to overcome the odds, or it could reveal a lack of discipline and poor time management skills. It also could reveal how far you've progressed in your professional development and whether you're ahead of the game or lagging.
Don't offer examples where you didn't succeed, didn't learn from the experience, or laid blame on external circumstances or on others. Avoid painting yourself as a victim. Instead, provide an example that centers on the struggle you faced, how you overcame it, focussing on your resourcefulness and an innovative approach in trying to overcome the odds stacked against you, even if you didn't succeed to the degree you hoped. What matters are the gains that contributed to greater success and what you learned from your experience.
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