What is the biggest mistake you ever made during a project?
Everyone makes mistakes so be truthful and tell the interviewer about a time when you messed up. It's important, however, to emphasize what you learned from the mistake you made and what you do now to ensure you don't repeat it. Own the error and explain how you resolved it.
"I think it's inevitable that people are going to make mistakes, both myself as the project manager and members of my teams. I don't view mistakes as failures; instead, I view them as learning experiences. The mistakes I've made to date have taught me a lot and over time have helped make me a better project manager.
The biggest mistake I ever made occurred early on in my career when I was a project manager at an architectural firm. I knew I needed to put together a plan with a timeline that satisfied the client, who wanted things to move quickly. So I did just that, only I didn't run my plan and its deadlines by the teams who would actually be carrying out the work prior to presenting it to the client. Well, the client loved the timeline, but when my teams saw it they became stressed and later frustrated. This also clearly impacted the quality of the work too. In the end, I had to go back to the client and push out the dates, which wasn't very professional. I learned that I needed to have my teams review and approve the schedule before I shared it with a client. This was a valuable lesson that I have never forgotten."
An interviewer can learn a lot about a candidate with this question. Your interviewer wants to know if you have the ability to identify your mistakes, take accountability for them, and improve upon your actions in the future. Perhaps even more importantly, this question is used to test your integrity. Candidates that dodge this question, refuse to own even a small mistake, or offer an inauthentic response are likely to raise a red flag with their interviewer resulting in elimination from the interviewing process.
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
Earlier in my career, I took over a project mid-flight and trusted that the project plan including change management was properly thought out. Well, no more than 3 weeks in a big issue occurred. A key stakeholder demanded a change and when I went to enforce the change management process I found that there was none. Additionally, the project schedule had no baseline, and as such, I did not notice that this situation had already happened several times and was the main reason the project was in the red. Needless to say, from that point on verifying and reviewing the project artifacts already in place is a pre-requisite when taking over a new project.
Amanda's Feedback
Excellent answer! You've shared what happened, how it impacted the project, and how you've ensured that error doesn't impact future projects.
