Interview Question: How to Answer Tell Me About a Time You Failed

Failure is something everyone wants to avoid, and talking about it can feel even more unsettling. For some, the mere idea of discussing a failure brings a sense of discomfort. It therefore sounds very daunting to answer that question at the interview desk. 

When you appear for an interview, you typically come prepared to talk about your qualifications for the role and not about your embarrassing mistakes. However, no matter your personal preference, it's crucial to be prepared to share a story about a time you let down your boss.

Hiring managers know well that you are not perfect and failures are an inevitable part of professional life. Whilst they will want to know about the successes in your career, the interviewer will also want to know how you deal with failure by asking you this behavioral question. Do you take a step back and reflect on what went wrong, or do you ignore it and pretend it never happened? Bear that in mind that the goal of the interviewers is not to make you squirm; it is to gauge your ability to bounce back from setbacks as a more learned and experienced operator.

Hiring managers are looking for candidates who show the ability to learn from their mistakes. Failures are part of life, and they are forgivable but if you can't identify what went wrong and how to improve, it may hurt your chances.

To prepare for this question, take time to reflect on past experiences, what you’ve learned from them, and how they’ve helped you grow as a professional.

Why Interviewers Ask About a Time Your Failed in Interview?

Interviewers ask you this behavioral question because they want to see how you fared with this situation in the past. In this case, an unpleasant situation where you messed up.

Owning a failure at a job in front of an interviewer can give a recruiter a lot of insight into what kind of employee you might turn out to be. But it is a lot harder than other common interview questions like “Tell me about yourself.”

Having to tell a person you are actively trying to impress about a time when you made a huge mistake can be difficult and the fear can be palpable but at the end of the day it all depends on how you frame it to make yourself look good without being dishonest. Here are the key reasons interviewers ask this question:

1. To Evaluate Your Resilience Under Pressure

When things go wrong, employers need to know how you respond. Do you panic or do you adapt quickly to find solutions? This question helps interviewers assess whether you can remain composed and resilient when facing challenges. They want to know if you have the ability to recover and stay focused on the end goal, even in the face of setbacks.

Companies need employees who can make quick adjustments and improvise wherever required. If you have the ability to implement quick changes in plan of action and adjust according to the situation, teams cannot afford to lose momentum

2. To Assess Your Self-Awareness and Accountability

By asking about a past failure, interviewers also gauge your ability to reflect on your own actions. This question tests whether you can identify your mistakes and recognize areas for improvement without shifting the blame. Employers value candidates who take responsibility for their actions and demonstrate the ability to learn from their experiences.

Employers expect from prospective employees to take ownership and resolve issues independently if needed.  If you are a candidate who is more interested in explaining the external factors and not taking responsibility, you will not be doing yourself any favor.

3. To Measure Your Willingness to Learn and Grow

Failure is an opportunity for growth if you are ready to accept and learn from them. Interviewers want to know if you can leverage mistakes to improve and evolve professionally. They are looking for candidates who are proactive about acquiring new skills and adapting to change, qualities that are essential in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Remember nobody wants failures to happen because they have to happen. Humans are erroneous creatures and mistakes can happen because of missing information, time constraints, or lack of training. You can use these experiences to grow and improve your performance if you don’t throw them under covers.

How to Respond to “Tell Me About a Time You Failed”

When answering “Tell me about a time you failed” you need to be honest but at the same time pick a low-stakes mistake. It will require a fine balancing act and you should be ready for that because the interviewer will see straight through it. Think of a genuine mistake but be careful that it must not amount to blunder. You should shy away from any colossal failures in which everything goes catastrophically and comically wrong because of you.  Also make sure that the mistake you picked is not a key job responsibility in your prospective office. Here are a few tips on answering: “Tell Me About a Time You Failed” in an interview:

1. Pick Failures Not Blunders

Avoid bringing up minor mistakes like forgetting to attach a document in an email or missing a small detail in a report. These examples don’t demonstrate much depth. Similarly, steer clear of discussing large-scale failures such as a project that resulted in significant financial loss. Instead, focus on a real situation with manageable or low consequences that gives you a valuable lesson. For example, perhaps a product feature you introduced didn’t resonate well with customers, or you misjudged the scope of a task, leading to a slight delay.

These situations show that you’re capable of identifying missteps without undermining your professional credibility. So, if an interviewer particularly asks about a failure related to work, pick something that is fairly important and went wrong because of your actions or lack of actions but it wasn’t the whole thing that reflects poorly on your professional abilities. Also, try to pull a story that happened a long time ago and is not related to the work you are currently applying for.

2. Explain What Exactly Went Wrong

When sharing your story, it's important to clearly identify the root cause of the failure. Reflect on the situation and highlight the specific obstacles that prevented you from reaching your goal. Being able to pinpoint what went wrong shows you understand the problem and can prevent it in the future. However, to demonstrate accountability you should not give excuses to deflect responsibility.

3. Highlight How You Corrected It

Explain the steps you took to resolve the issue. If you were able to fix the problem or mitigate the impact, this will showcase your problem-solving skills, adaptability and making run-time decisions. If the mistake couldn’t be fixed immediately, focus on what you did right  afterward to rectify the problem. Whether it was apologizing to a client or holding a follow-up meeting to analyze the situation, you should bring that in your answer. Employers value candidates who can take swift and decisive actions, even when things go wrong.

4. Don’t make excuses

Be mindful not to blame external factors like market conditions or staffing shortages. Every business involves variables that are beyond human control but you can’t serve those uncontrollable elements as the sole reason for your failure. Don’t try to be defensive and deflect your responsibilities during the interview. Taking full responsibility demonstrates maturity and professionalism, qualities that hiring managers look for in candidates.

5. Avoid Shifting Blame

Don't point fingers at others when discussing your failure. This is a major red flag for interviewers. A candidate who constantly blames others for failures can disrupt team harmony, lower morale, and reduce productivity. Instead, focus on what you could have done differently to prevent the issue. Acknowledging your own role in the outcome and what you could have done to make things better, rather than blaming others, shows humility and self-awareness.

6. Avoid Being Anti-You

While it's important to show humility and self-awareness, avoid going completely overboard and being self-deprecating. Don’t use your story as an opportunity to belittle yourself or make sweeping negative claims about your abilities. Stick to the facts and describe the situation objectively. This approach signals that you are able to accept mistakes without letting them define you. It shows emotional resilience and a level-headed attitude. Remember, there is no better way to deal with setbacks than taking them on your chin.

7. Show that You Are More Learned Now

The best way to present a failure in an interview is to highlight the lessons you've gained from it. Show the employers how you have turned a failure into a learning experience. Remember, mistakes are inevitable, but the real value lies in how you respond and what you take away from the experience. Share how you’ve applied those lessons in subsequent situations and how they’ve contributed to your growth as a professional. This shift from failure to learning demonstrates that you're committed to continuous improvement, which is exactly what employers are looking for.

8. Use the STAR method

To structure your response effectively, follow the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. For example, if you’re discussing a failure, first explain the context or Situation, then describe your responsibilities which would be your task, followed by the steps you took to fix it (Action), and conclude with the outcome or Result. Using this method allows you to present your story logically, making it easier for the interviewer to understand the sequence of events and the lessons you learned. This structured approach can be applied to any behavioral interview question, not just those focused on failure.

Example Answers to Tell Me About a Time You Failed

Here are some tell me about a time you failed sample questions and their example answers you can use in an interview.

Sample Question #1

Tell me about a time you failed to meet a deadline. How did you handle it?

Answer:

In a previous role, I was working on a marketing campaign with a tight deadline. I underestimated the time needed for research and approval processes, and as a result, I missed the final deadline. I immediately informed my supervisor and took responsibility for the delay. To make up for it, I worked extra hours over the weekend to finalize the project, and I prioritized communication with the team to keep everyone updated. Afterward, I implemented a more detailed project timeline to ensure I accounted for all steps in future projects. While the situation was challenging, it helped me develop better time management and communication skills.

Sample Question #2

Describe a time when you made a mistake during a presentation or meeting. How did you handle it?

Answer:

During a quarterly business review, I presented a set of financial projections that contained an error in the data. I didn't notice it until a colleague pointed it out midway through the meeting. I acknowledged the mistake immediately, apologized to the team, and offered to correct the figures on the spot. After the meeting, I worked with my team to verify all the data before resending the corrected report. I learned the importance of double-checking my work and seeking feedback from others to ensure accuracy before presenting in high-stakes situations.

Sample Question #3

Can you tell me about a time when you failed to communicate effectively with your team? How did you resolve the issue?

Answer:

There was a project where I was leading a cross-functional team, and I failed to communicate the project's goals and timelines clearly to everyone involved. As a result, team members were unclear on their responsibilities and missed some important milestones. Once I realized the miscommunication, I immediately scheduled a team meeting to clarify expectations, break down the tasks, and make sure everyone had a clear understanding of the timeline moving forward. I also set up weekly check-ins to monitor progress and encourage open communication. It was a valuable lesson in the importance of clear, consistent communication, and I've made it a priority in all my subsequent projects.

Sample Question #4

Tell me about a time when you failed to deliver a project as expected. What did you learn from the experience?

Answer:

In a previous job, I was responsible for launching a product feature within a set timeline. However, I was overly optimistic about how quickly the development process would go, and we hit several unexpected technical challenges. As a result, we missed the initial launch date. I took responsibility for the oversight and worked closely with the development team to identify the root causes of the delays. Afterward, I improved my planning process by incorporating buffer time for unexpected issues and by engaging with the team earlier to assess potential risks. While the experience was frustrating, it taught me the importance of realistic goal setting and being proactive in identifying potential challenges.

Sample Question #5

Tell me about a time when you failed to meet a customer's expectations. How did you handle it?

Answer:

Once, I worked with a client who had very specific expectations for a custom software solution. Despite our best efforts, we missed some of the key requirements they had outlined early on, which led to dissatisfaction. Once the issue was brought to my attention, I scheduled an urgent call with the client to understand their concerns fully. I took accountability for the miscommunication and worked with the development team to quickly implement the necessary changes. I also offered the client a discount on future services as a goodwill gesture. Through this experience, I learned the importance of clarifying expectations upfront and maintaining constant communication throughout the project to ensure the client’s needs are fully met.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Answering "Tell Me About a Time You Failed"

Keep in mind that behavioral interview questions or open-ended interview questions are asked in interviews to assess how a candidate would act in a certain situation. While answering tell me about a time you failed, here are some pitfalls you should avoid:

• Shifting Blame onto Others – Avoid blaming others for your failure. If you weren’t responsible, it wasn’t truly your failure, and that won’t answer the question.
• Discussing Serious Misconduct – Don’t bring up failures related to illegal or unethical behavior. Such mistakes can raise red flags about your integrity and suitability for the role.
• Sharing Irrelevant or Extreme Examples – Stay away from extreme cases like missing weeks of work or being fired. Choose examples that show growth without suggesting a lack of professionalism.
• Claiming You Haven’t Failed – Claiming you’ve never failed makes you seem dishonest or self-aware. Everyone fails at some point, so acknowledge your setbacks and focus on lessons learned.

Conclusion

When preparing for this behavioral question, keep a few key points in mind. Choose an example that demonstrates how you've learned from the experience and be genuine in your response. Interviewers can easily spot examples that don't reflect real failure. It's important to take responsibility and show how you've applied the lessons you've learned. Also, don’t dwell on everything that went wrong; “something” would do enough.

Above all, remember that failure is a natural part of any career. "Tell me about a time you failed" shouldn't be a question to fear.