“Tell me about a time you failed” is one of the trickiest interview questions. We’ll walk you through how to come up with a response that shows employers how learning from past mistakes has made you a better candidate.
“Tell me about a time you failed” is a behavioral interview question that interviewers ask to get a better idea of how you’ve handled failure in the past.
@resumegenius The STAR method in interviews ⭐️ Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. #starmethod #starmethodtips #interviewquestions ♬ original sound – Resume Genius | Career Advice
The main reason employers ask interview questions focused on failure isn’t to trap you. They want to know if you can own your mistakes, learn from your failures, and improve or grow.
How to answer “tell me about a time you failed”
We’ll take you through three simple steps to answer effectively, and then provide you with some example answers.
1. Choose a good example
The example you share should be an instance where you used failure as a learning opportunity and grew professionally as a result.
Ideally, your example should also be low stakes and from an earlier part of your career. You want to show employers you can own up to your mistakes, but that you aren’t prone to them.
When possible, choose an example that was strategic miscalculation — where a strategy was ineffective or an approach missed its target — rather than a personal mistake to frame the failure as a professional pivot.
Make sure to avoid bringing up any example that:
- Caused a major problem at work
- Reveals a significant character flaw
- Had no resolution
As a rule of thumb, avoid examples that involve money. Even if you learned a great lesson, telling employers how you cost former companies profits will probably do more harm than good.
2. Use the STAR method
The STAR method is an excellent format for structuring and effectively answering interview questions. This technique helps you structure your interview question responses into four parts: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
This strategy is useful for answering behavioral interview questions where you need to provide context when responding. To use the STAR method, give details on the following:
- Situation: What was the situation or problem you faced?
- Task: What was the specific task you were involved in?
- Action: What steps did you take to complete the task at hand?
- Result: What were the outcomes of your actions? (Preferably positive outcomes)
Have your STAR responses prepared before the interview and practice your delivery through role-play with a friend so you’ll be ready when the time comes.
Here’s an example of an answer to “tell me about a time you failed” that uses the STAR method:
Situation: When I was working as a Barista Lead at Flo Coffee, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated by one customer in particular who would come and use our wifi for hours without ordering anything.
Task: I knew I had to find a way to ask her to pay for something, but I didn’t know how to handle confrontation. One day I let my emotions get the better of me and angrily asked her if she would like to buy something. While I wasn’t necessarily wrong to do so, I confronted her in a way that made her very upset.
Action: I had to find a way to de-escalate the situation and make sure that the customer felt welcome and appreciated, so I apologized to her and gave her a coupon for a free pastry. She came back the next day and was pleased to use her coupon, and after that, she always ordered something when she came in.
Result: I knew that I could have handled the situation much better, and wanted to make sure I would be able to do so in the future. I attended a workshop on healthy confrontation practices and learned how to approach difficult situations in a much more calm, positive, and professional way. My manager recognized my effort and how well I was handling customer complaints, and was so impressed she promoted me to Cafe Manager.
3. Describe what you learned and how you improved
Finally, you get to the most critical part of your response: the lessons you learned and how they’ve helped you improve in your career or life.
Ideally, you should have tangible results where possible to demonstrate how you’ve improved because of your failure. This can include numbers and other specific details like time saved or percentages.
Even if you don’t have tangible results, you can describe how the lessons have impacted your work or outlook, or how you’ve developed your soft skills.
“Tell me about a time you failed” example answers
To help you structure your answer based on the tips shared above, here are a few sample answers:
Failure to delegate
In my previous company, I led a task team for one of our clients. We were on a tight deadline, and since this was a very important client, I opted to do most of the work myself instead of delegating. Unfortunately, we didn’t complete the project on time.
Afterward, I sought resources on leadership and management skills to learn how to delegate effectively. Since then, I’ve learned to trust my colleagues and delegate tasks when necessary. So, the failure was an essential part of my growth that helped me become a better leader.
Trouble separating work and home life
I had a challenge transitioning from the office to the home environment when I was required to work from home for several months. I didn’t have defined boundaries for my work and home life, which led to stress and burnout. As a result, my productivity took a hit, and my direct supervisor noticed this.
I scheduled a meeting with my therapist to help me set clear boundaries and took active steps to separate my work and personal life. In less than three months, my productivity level was higher than before, and I was promoted to supervisor.
Setting a goal that was too ambitious
The first time I was promoted to team leader, I promised my manager that I’d improve the production process by 15% by the end of the quarter. I did what I could, breaking down the cycle into smaller processes and assigning responsibilities to the team members.
However, 15% was an ambitious goal in the first place, and we only managed to improve the production process by 6% by the end of the quarter. This experience helped me learn the importance of setting achievable goals and getting the input of my team members before making important decisions.
Missed opportunity to speak up
When I first started working as a junior analyst, I was part of a team that was preparing a client presentation with some complex data models. My responsibility was to review the final report and flag any errors. I noticed a minor discrepancy in one of the charts but didn’t speak up because I was new and worried about overstepping.
Unfortunately, the client caught the mistake during the presentation. My manager was surprised that I had seen it but hadn’t said anything. I realized that failing to communicate concerns, even if they seem small, can have big consequences, and now I always ask for clarification when I see something that looks wrong.
Misjudging customer expectations
As a marketing coordinator, I led a social media campaign for a product launch. I pitched an idea to take our marketing in an edgy new direction to generate discussion, and my manager approved it, but I didn’t run it by the legal and compliance teams.
The campaign received backlash from a small but vocal group of customers who felt it was off-brand. We had to pull the ads within a week, which wasted time and money. This experience taught me the importance of involving all relevant teams in discussions and considering potential risks. Now, I always run new campaigns by legal and compliance and get feedback before going live.
Overestimating bandwidth
A few years ago, I volunteered to organize our company’s annual charity event while managing my regular workload as an HR associate. I genuinely wanted to make the event special, so I took on too many tasks myself including vendor negotiations and volunteer scheduling.
As the date approached, I became overwhelmed and missed a key deadline to secure one of our top sponsors, which reduced the funds we raised. It was disappointing, but I learned how important it is to ask for help and delegate responsibilities. Since then, I’ve improved my project management skills and even co-chaired the same event the following year. We even hit a record fundraising goal because I built a team and trusted them to get the job done.
Additional interview resources
“Tell me about a time you failed” won’t be the only question in your interview. To make sure you’re prepared, read up on some of these other common interview questions and answers:
About the Author
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Lauren Mastroni is a Digital Content Writer at Resume Genius, where she creates data-driven career content and actionable job search advice. With a background in academic research, she brings a research-focused approach to topics like resume writing, interviewing, and career development. Lauren is dedicated to helping job seekers at all stages navigate the hiring process and present themselves more effectively to employers.
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