Tell me about a time you failed. How did you handle it?

Using a relevant professional example, emphasize that you've learned to approach failure constructively and that it doesn't cause you to shy away from future challenges. Don't use too big of a failure as an example, as you don't want the interviewer to feel concerned about your ability to perform the job effectively!

"In school, I failed one of my core classes. At first, I was upset with my professor for grading me so harshly that semester, and I found myself making excuses for my failure - I was working a part-time job, there weren't enough hours to study, my roommate was too loud, etc. I took a step back and realized I was the only person to blame for my failure. I took ownership and wrote out what caused my failure and a corrective action plan for retaking the course."

"My team lost one of our biggest clients in my current role. While no one specifically was to blame for it, everyone felt at fault, and morale was pretty low. I sat down with my team to discuss where things went wrong with this client and how we could prevent this situation from happening again. When faced with failure, I strive to maintain a positive attitude by focusing on what I can learn from the situation to improve for next time."

"I've learned that some degree of failure is inevitable when you take risks and seek growth. The first example that comes to mind is a huge client project I worked on at my previous company. I had just graduated from college and was new to the work world. The scope of the completed project was not at all what the client was looking for, and my manager had to step in to help solve various problems. While disappointing, I learned a great deal from this early failure: to consult my manager more frequently when working on an unfamiliar topic, increase my attention to detail, and ask for help when needed. Future client projects went 10x better. I've learned to view failures like this as growing experiences."

Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.