What is your first reaction when you realize you’ve make a mistake?
This question is an honesty based query. What they are trying to determine is how you would react to learning you made a mistake. There are those who might try to hide the incident. Then there are those who would spend countless payroll hours trying to remedy their mistake, despite more pressing concerns demanding their attention. Then there are those who would bring it to the attention of their supervisors if they were unable to remedy the issue swiftly on their own. Taking ownership of your mistakes is a desirable trait, as is respecting the chain of command, and relying on their judgement among ever shifting demands and priorities. Lastly, what you learn from such mistakes counts more than anything.
"I am my own biggest critic, so when I do something wrong or make a mistake, I am the first to voice it and look for a fix. I am independent and smart, so I am confident in my ability to repair any errors I create. If necessary, I would bring a colleague or manager into the situation to help me repair the situation. Most importantly, I am honest and also open about my work; owning up to any mistakes that I make."
"I fully believe in honesty and immediately repairing what I have done wrong. I am not too proud to admit when I have made a mistake, but it's for the good of the team that everyone is open and honest when an error happens. Taking these situations as opportunities to become better is very important."
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.
Anonymous Answer
I am independent and smart, so I am confident in my ability to repair any errors I create. If necessary, I would bring a colleague or manager into the situation to help me repair the situation. Most importantly, I am honest and also open about my work; owning up to any mistakes that I make.
Stephanie's Feedback
Great! The openness to feedback is really a gift, and you do a great job of showing how open you are to learning from inevitable mistakes.
Anonymous Answer
I hate making mistakes so I am normally careful to double-check my work before submitting a project. I don't strive to be the fastest person on the team but I do strive to be the most accurate. But in the event that I do make a mistake, I will cross-check to understand how the mistake happened then I would take my findings to my immediate manager to see if we can work on a resolution to rectify the issue. If it is a mistake that my boss comes to me with my immediate response is definitely an apology for the inconvenience and look into resolving the issue immediately.
Marcie's Feedback
Great! The interviewer will be happy to hear that you are very careful and detail-oriented. It also sounds like you have a good process in place to handle any mistakes. Just don't forget to emphasize that you always strive to learn from any mistakes you make and carry those lessons with you so you don't make the mistake twice.
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