Should I talk about my failures when being interviewed for a job?

Questions speaking to your failures, weaknesses or difficult issues you had to handle are common in interview scenarios. It is important to give an answer covers the following key points:

• Shows your humility by taking ownership of the failure.
• Talks to what you did to fix the situation at the time.
• Speaks to what you learned to help avoid the issue happening again in the future.

I would avoid trying to use tactics to avoid giving a real answer, like the classical 'weakness is a strength' approach. The interviewer doesn't want to know how tricky you are. They want to know that you know how to handle failure and grow as a person.

I recommend you do some google searches and make a list of common questions which speak to these difficult times. Then, try to identify at least 5 times in your past where a situation occurred so that you can use to speak to the question. Try not to over-prepare for the specific interview questions. Your answer will feel more genuine if you can fit one of your chosen stories to whichever question comes up in the interview. Just keep the 3 points above in mind when picking which story will best fit the question you have been asked.

I wouldn't volunteer the information, but I have had 3 Interviews where the question came up: "What was a difficult situation that you had to deal with, and how did you go about solving it". There will always be challenges which you will have to overcome, and the ability to deal with them calmly and effectively is a rare skill which companies find invaluable. However, opening any conversation with 'I expect to fail' could go just as much against you as in your favor. Be prepared to talk about your problem solving methodology, your reactions to stressful situations, and your any strengths that you may have in working with others. These are universal concerns for all employees. It is true that failure is inevitable, but the lessons learned from hardship are the ones that stick with you.

It is ok to talk failures during interviews with the objective to speak to learning experiences gained from those failures. The most successful people fail over and over again in their journey but all learn from those experiences.

Yes, you absolutely should.

Try to reframe your thinking. Instead of referring to your missteps as failures, think of them as opportunities. An interviewer is asking you about a time where you felt like you failed because they want to see how you learned from that opportunity and what actions you took to improve and move forward.

Everyone experiences failure at some point. What's important is learning from them. Taking a situation and verbalizing what you did, what you learned from it, and how you would handle the scenario again is what is most important to convey.

I would suggest don't focus so much on the failures but instead on the learning and how you bounced back. Build a story around the success after a temporary setback.

Many interviews now include the question "Tell me about a time you have failed." So best to be prepared for this. Everyone fails, so pick an example that you learned from. E.g., "When I first was confronted with situation X, I wasn't sure how to proceed, and it didn't go well. But the next time, etc." Good Luck!

Great question! I would recommend being ready to talk about a failure during an interview. The interviewer is asking to understand how you handle adversity. The way you respond speaks volumes about your attitude and how you approach life and work. Some people are crushed after a failure and need others to pick them up. Some vow never to try again, or blame others without taking any personal accountability.  Being able to share your personal story of how you made lemonade out of a lemon speaks volumes of your pluckiness and tenacity, both valuable traits to an employer.  Good luck at that next interview!

I've interviewed many people and this is a common question. As a few others have indicated, focus on what you learned and what you'd do differently. In some cases its not failure because you made a mistake, but rather you may have been testing out a theory, or maybe more information came to light after you started. Don't be afraid to share those. Being afraid to fail stifles creativity and innovation. Fail fast if you have to and learn quickly. On the other side, if you failed because you were unprepared, you should have a very good explanation of what you've learned and how you've already modified your behavior as a result.

Great question to ask. I would recommend avoiding that question unless you are specifically asked this question . Most employers will not ask this question anyway. Sometimes by providing too much unneeded information people sometimes can talk themselves right out of a new job . Always focus on the positive things you've done at your previous job and the good feedback and relationships you've created.

Don't be afraid of this question. It typically is assessing your ability to learn and grow and be self aware. Address the question head on, prepare and list an example or two where you learned from a mistake or failure to achieve your goal. Be sure to share how you owned it, what you did about it and how that shaped you going forward.

You may approach this part as opportunities, recognizing these opportunities and speaking to them shows a lot of character and courage.

Focus on how you over come challenges rather that stating failures. It shows that yes, failures/bad things happen. But it is how you get back up that counts. Everyone fails, that is how you learn.