Most of us have had to face the dreaded, “Tell me about a time you made a mistake” question while interviewing for a new job.

And while the whole point of an interview is to put your best foot forward—and nobody relishes disclosing past work failures—with a little advanced prepara...

Understand what the interviewer is really getting at, so you can best tailor your response. What they really want to know is how you approach challenges, what you learned from the experience, and how you constructively applied that knowledge to other situations. In addition to gleaning a sense of...

• Pick a specific example of a true work experience (not personal).
• Make sure the mistake was minor, and something you successfully fixed.
• Keep it brief, but be prepared to provide more details.
• Take full responsibility for your mistake.
• Describe how you solved ...

• Do not discuss mistakes that reveal moral failings or character flaws (such as lying or fighting).
• Don’t pass the blame onto others.
• Don’t pick a mistake you were not able to fix.
• Don’t make jokes or disparage your former employer.

Keep in mind the “STAR Technique”:

S: Situation – describe the situation you were in when that past work-related mistake happened.

T: Task – explain what you were supposed to do.

A: Action – tell them what happened. Describe wha...