Tell me about a time you realised you made a mistake and how you handled it.
"There was a project I was working on, and I misunderstood a large part of the nature of this project. I should have clarified and revisited my notes, but I dove in. When I realised I'd made the mistake, I realised I'd lost half a day's work. I could have tried to cover my tracks, but I confessed to my supervisor that I'd made this mistake, and they calmly asked me what I'd learnt from my mistake. I told them. They then asked me if it would happen again. I said no. And that was that. I haven't made such a mistake again, and my attention to detail has improved ten fold since."
"When I was working in grocery, I realised I mis-punched an order, and instead of ordering one case of kitchen rolls, which are very large, I ordered eleven. It was too late to cancel the order, so I immediately informed my superiors and told them I would make it right. So I quickly called our neighbouring stores in our grocery chain and traded one case to each store for a product of equal value so our inventory numbers wouldn;t be off. The remaining cases we were stuck with, so I built a handsome display on one of our end caps with some appealing signage. Surprisingly, we sold out at day's end."
This question aims to reveal whether you take ownership of your mistakes, address damage control first, and try to learn something from it, assuring you won't make the same mistake again. In order to coach others on how to find work and retain work, you'll need to exhibit the emotional intelligence required of the role, while encouraging your customers to do the same.
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
A locksmith was arranged to change one of the units by central management. The locksmith completed the job but required a signature to give the key. As a receptionist, it’s my duty to sign things on behalf of central management so I signed it and took the key. I called Central to let them know I had the key. I was told I should not sign it. I apologize to him. I started searching for the locksmith via CCTV I found him and asked my colleague to ask him to come back to reception. I called central management and told them I had the locksmith in reception. Central management asked him the question he needed. The problem was solved.
Jaymie's Feedback
Interviewers want to hear that you can take ownership of mistakes, correct them, and learn from them. It sounds like you did all of those things in this example. Great job!
