When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?
TIPS TO PREPARE
TOP ANSWERS
OUR COACH SAYS
The interviewer would like to know how you react when it comes to setbacks in the workplace. Everyone handles the stress and disappointment of setbacks differently. Discuss with the interviewer how you typically cope with delays in the workplace.
Example #1
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with my manager and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #2
"I allow myself a moment to be frustrated when a setback occurs, but never publicly. I may go for a quick walk on my lunch break, for instance. When a setback occurs, I prefer to take from the experience rather than have it take energy away from me."
Example #3
"Setbacks can be trying, but I find that you have to learn how to lose before you learn how to win. While I never enjoy a setback, I use them as a stepping off point to something even better."
Example #4
"Setbacks happen for a reason, and they do not affect me emotionally in the least. I am a very pragmatic thinker and stay focused on my project despite the challenges that come my way. I am a creative thinker, so setbacks are often used as a new jumping off point to something even better."
Example #5
"When working in a customer facing role, as I do, setbacks will happen on a regular basis. I recall one time when I hit my weekly sales target by just a hair. Ten minutes before closing, a customer returned an item purchased from me. It put me in the hole! Ugh! It felt like such a burn. With that said, I took that enthusiasm and applied it to my following weeks' KPI's and knocked it out of the park."
Example #6
"Salespeople are competitive and thus, tend to take things personally when setbacks occur. I become internally frustrated when my goal fails or a perceived "done deal" falls through. When this happens, I will go through a mental rundown of what I could have done differently. It can certainly be emotionally taxing, but I also learn a ton from processing these mistakes."
Example #7
"I need to understand that setbacks happen as a teacher. Whether it is a student's learning, a policy change, or lack of funding. When these setbacks happen, I improvise, as all great teachers must do!"
Example #8
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with my manager and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #9
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be very disheartening, especially when involving a project that I have put a lot of time and effort into. I understand that setbacks happen often, and to everyone - despite their level of expertise or years of experience. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to internally debrief, get some fresh air if possible, or discuss what I could have done differently with a mentor. Then, I move on. Rather than dwell on my mistakes, I choose to learn from them."
Example #10
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief with my team and discuss what we could have done differently. Then, we implement what we learned, and we move on!"
Example #11
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief with my manager and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #12
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be very disheartening, especially when involving a patient. I understand that setbacks happen often, and to everyone - despite their level of expertise or years of experience. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to internally debrief, get some fresh air if possible, or discuss what I could have done differently with a mentor. Then, I move on. People need me to recover quickly so that I can concentrate on the next case."
Example #13
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with my director and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #14
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with a mentor, and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #15
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing and can be a bit disheartening, especially when research hours are lost for example. I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with my manager and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #16
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with my site manager and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #17
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with the physician on call, and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move forward with the knowledge that I gained."
Example #18
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief with my manager, or team, and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #19
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief with my supervisor and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #20
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If my patient experiences a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief with the doctor and discuss what I could have done differently, if anything."
Example #21
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief with my team and discuss what I could have done differently. Then, I move on! As a chef, my environment is much too busy to spend time dwelling on setbacks."
Example #22
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback, I will take a few moments to debrief and discuss with the director or photographer what I could have done differently. Then, I try again until I nail it!"
Example #23
"I deal with my emotions the same way that I encourage my patients to deal with theirs. First I control my breathing, walk away from the situation if possible and talk about how the situation is making me feel."
Example #24
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief and discuss with the director what I could have done differently. Then, I move on!"
Example #25
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing, and can be a bit disheartening, but I understand that it happens from time to time. If I experience a major setback I will take a few moments to debrief and discuss what I could have done differently, with a more seasoned behavioral therapist in the office. Then, I move forward with new treatment methods."
Anonymous Answer
"It affects me emotionally and also has some effects on my job. However, I will try my best to control all unintended situations that cause problems."
Rachelle's Reply
Try focusing your response on a more positive aspect of change. Unfortunately this answer would create more questions than answers, and would be a red flag to the interviewer. I have provided an example for you.
Rachelle's Reply
"Setbacks can be emotional, especially because I put so much effort into what I do at work. I do my best to remain professional and in control in all situations, and am sure to learn a lesson from setbacks whenever possible."
Was this answer helpful?
Yes (5)
or
No (1)
Thank you
More Interview Q&As
Explore expert tips and resources to be more confident in your next interview.
Behavioral
Common
Phone
Tough
Leadership
All Interview Topics
All Career Q&As
About Our Approach to Q&As
Our interview questions are created by writers, most of whom have a long history of recruiting and interviewing candidates. They do not necessarily have experience interviewing or working with the companies, careers or schools they may write for on MockQuestions.com. We strive to match our experts' background and expertise with the appropriate question sets found on our website.