Tell me about a time you made a mistake
Choose a real mistake you can talk about calmly. Say what went wrong, how you put it right and what you do differently now.
Practise this questionChoose the right mistake
Everyone makes mistakes, so the interviewer isn’t looking for someone who never has. They are listening for whether you notice, own up and change what you do.
Choose a real error with a consequence you were able to recover from. Avoid anything that would raise doubts about your honesty, safety or the core skills of this job. Avoid trivial slips too: if nothing changed afterwards, there is not much of a story to tell.
Mistake, fix, change
- Say what happened, briefly.
One or two sentences is enough. The mistake isn’t the main point of your answer.
- Own it.
Say “I” and be specific about what you did or failed to do. You can explain the context, but don’t use it as an excuse.
- Explain how you fixed it.
Say who you told, how quickly you told them and what you did to limit the damage.
- Show what changed.
Describe what you do differently now and, if you can, a time it has helped since.
This is the STAR method applied to a mistake. Read the full guide, with a template to copy.
Two example answers
These are illustrative answers, not scripts to copy. Replace the details with experiences you can discuss honestly.
Situation In my first job as a marketing assistant, I scheduled a customer email with a discount code that had already expired.
Task It was my campaign, and I spotted the problem about an hour after it went out, so it was up to me to sort it out.
Action I told my manager right away instead of trying to fix it quietly. I asked customer service to honour the code and gave them a short note to use. Then I sent a correction to everyone on the list. Afterwards, I added a test of every link and code to my checklist, and I asked a colleague to check anything going to the full list.
Result We had only a handful of complaints, and they were all sorted the same day. I have used that checklist ever since, and it has caught two more problems before they reached customers.
The speaker owns the error, tells their manager quickly and fixes the problem. The final sentence is the proof that the lesson stuck.
Same question. Your story.Situation As a project manager at a small building firm, I confirmed a delivery date to a client without checking that our supplier could still meet it.
Task When the supplier said it would be two weeks late, I had to tell the client and limit the delay, because I was the one who had made the promise.
Action I phoned the client that day, told them I should have checked before confirming, and gave them the new date along with what I was doing about it. I found a second supplier for part of the order and rearranged the team so that we could start the work that wasn’t affected.
Result We finished five days late rather than two weeks, and the client stayed with us for the next phase. I now get supplier dates in writing before I give a client a date.
The supplier’s delay could have been an easy excuse, but the speaker takes responsibility for making the promise. The lesson is a specific change in how they work.
Same question. Your story.What to avoid
- Blaming a colleague, a client or a system for what went wrong.
- Disguising a strength as a mistake, such as “I cared too much”.
- Choosing a mistake that had no consequences, so nothing needed to change.
- Ending on the error without saying what you do differently now.
- Apologising all the way through. Own it once, then move on to the fix.
Keep the mistake short
Mistake stories tend to run long, because it’s tempting to over-explain how it happened. Rehearse until the mistake itself takes a sentence or two and most of your answer is about what you did next.
Listen for any point where you start justifying yourself or speeding up. A calm, plain account is what makes you sound trustworthy.
Common questions
How is this different from “Tell me about a time you failed”?
They are very similar. A mistake is usually something specific you did wrong, while a failure can be a goal or project that fell short. The same structure works for both, but use a different example if you are asked both.
Should I use a mistake from my current job?
You can, as long as it has been resolved and you aren’t sharing anything confidential. An older mistake also works well, because you can show how long the change has lasted.
Now say it out loud.
Use your own example. Record a first take, listen back and choose one thing to make clearer.