How to Answer: Tell me about an error or mistake you made because of a breakdown in communication from you or one of your team members.
13. Tell me about an error or mistake you made because of a breakdown in communication from you or one of your team members.
How to Answer
The interviewer would like to know about a time when communication was weak on your part, and a mistake occurred. On occasion, mistakes will happen, and discussions will break. Think back to a time when you made an error in communication, and it caused a ripple effect that reached your team members or your organization as a whole. The final part of your answer needs to include the steps you took to repair the situation. Make sure to conclude your answer on a positive note.
Answer Example
"I recall one instance where I misread an email from one of my subordinates. The punctuation was incorrect, and I read it in in a dire tone rather than in a positive one, as it was intended. After a tense conversation, the employee clarified her intention, and it seems I was mistaken. She and I agreed to exercise verbal communication on a regular basis to avoid a similar situation from happening again."
Admin
"I am the executive assistant to three different members of our company's c-suite. One day I made the error of emailing the wrong schedule to the others, resulting in a disastrous day. I was able to reschedule their appointments for later in the week, but my error did result in a few unhappy clients."
Manager
"I missed a shipment to a customer because there were two similar items in the production schedule. Usually, the scheduler highlights oddities like that, but not this time. I missed the difference and thought it was the same order when it came through on my end."
Marketing
"I missed a deadline the other week because I did not fully read the email from my marketing director, stating that the deadline had been moved up. I committed myself to be much more detail-oriented when it came to reading my messages from him. He also agreed to red flag any matters of importance, moving forward."
Retail
"We missed one of our inventory shipments last month because I too quickly skimmed a memo from head office regarding the change in schedule due to a long weekend. The shipment was returned which resulted in extra costs to the business and a delay in receiving our seasonal stock. I offered to pay for the extra charges. They refused to charge me for the error but did ask that I take additional care in the future. I was embarrassed, and I do all I can now to ensure an oversight like this never happens again."
Sales
"We recently had a missing link in communications to one of our vendors, who we signed on to provide a large service. They were not aware of a change in the agreement which cost the company wasted time, resources and money. We were able to identify the breakdown in communication and change the process to ensure it does not happen again."
Teacher
"Last year I made an error in communicating with a parent newsletter. I had the wrong date for a school field trip which resulted in all of my students showing up to school, ready and excited for a day at the museum. Oops! The parents were pretty good about it, and we went the following day; however, I had some pretty ticked off little students that day. Nobody is perfect but I certainly triple check my dates now!"
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Situation (S): Start by describing the context and the specific situation where the communication breakdown occurred. Explain the project, task, or initiative you were working on and the role of communication in it. Highlight why effective communication was crucial.
Task (T): Explain your role and responsibilities within the situation, as well as the roles of the team members involved. Describe the specific task or objective you were working towards and why it was essential to the project or organization.
Action (A): Detail the breakdown in communication that occurred. If the breakdown was due to your actions or decisions, be honest and transparent about your part in it. If the breakdown was due to a team member's actions or decisions, explain how you identified the issue. Refrain from speaking negatively about others or passing blame.
Describe the actions you took to address the breakdown in communication. This should include the steps you took to rectify the situation, clarify misunderstandings, or mitigate the impact of the error.
Result (R): Share the situation's outcome, including the impact of the breakdown in communication. Discuss what you learned from the experience, whether the mistake led to process improvements or better communication practices, and how you prevented similar issues in the future.