Mistakes committed during your previous jobs shouldn’t be set aside. Your mistakes can actually help you face difficult situations confidently, and influence the way you make decisions for the better.
If you are asked this question during an interview, do you know how to answer it professionally? Before you give your answer, keep in mind that making mistakes is inevitable. But you can choose to let the mistakes become lessons you can keep.
Here are some tips to help you answer the question on interview day:
List all your work experiences. This includes past companies you have worked for, and job responsibilities you’ve had, which may have changed in certain organizations over time. Arrange them in chronological order to help organize your thoughts.
List all the work-related mistakes you’ve committed in the past. How did your boss (or bosses) respond? What were the lessons you learned?
Evaluate. Analyze each situation .How did the mistakes happen? What did you do that made the situation worse (if applicable)? Were you able to resolve the errors on your own?
Organize. Make sure your responses are in order. Practice talking about those scenarios as if you are in a conversation with the hiring manager.
Site Examples. Cite an example in which you can highlight your strengths in decision-making. If you made a significant mistake in the past, what will you do to ensure it won’t happen again?
Be confident. Do not be afraid to share your career mistakes. Some may find it scary, but you might be surprised how much the recruiter may admire you for being honest (and then working to resolve the problem).
At the end of the day, your past doesn’t matter as much as the present. As long as you’re humble enough to learn from your mistakes, you can be confident on your career path.
