What's the biggest mistake you've ever made during a project?
The interviewer knows that everyone makes mistakes. They are looking to find out how you handled an error and what you learned from it. Make sure that you take responsibility for the mistake you made, discuss how you resolved it, and talk about how you carried the lesson you learned away from it.
"At my last job, our CEO let us know that he wanted to replace the company's existing computer system with a new one. Given that I'm not a tech expert, I did my best to support the project manager and tech department with this project, but I made the mistake of not initiating a review of software upgrades at the same time that we replaced the hardware. As a result, only a short few months after we disrupted all the employees to replace their machines, we had to disrupt them again to perform software upgrades. From this experience, I learned to always consult experts about my overall project plan before I move forward with it. If I had done that in this instance I would have known to upgrade the software at the same time as we replaced the machines. This would have saved time and money."
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
At my current job, while advising our stakeholders about the cost of some courses, I involuntary sent out the outdated information as I had the information sent by my colleagues and I had both copies on my files. This had an impact on their spending and when we realized the mistake they had to redo all their spending which took time and resources. I apologize and I offered my help in order for them to make it to the deadline of the submission and I learn to always double-check the information I sent out and to keep my files up to date.
Chad's Feedback
Good answer! The story-based example from your career demonstrates how you handled the error, as well as the lesson you learned from the experience. If possible, include specifics such as the cost of the order to quantify your response and provide the interviewer with the scope of the error.
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