How to successfully talk about failure in job interviews

Failure, they say, is a great teacher.

We often learn so much in the situations where things don’t go right. So in a job interview, how do we deal with the experience we earned the hard way?

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”

Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan (1982)

Obviously we don’t want job interviews to be a litany of woe, where you outline everything you’ve ever done wrong, but if you frame it well, then giving an example or two in an interview of how you’ve reacted when things have gone awry can be a smart move.

Successful job interviews feature strong stories to illustrate your skills, and adding an element of overcoming adversity makes for compelling and memorable stories.

Show your authentic self

Owning our flaws can have several advantages:

• It will make you and your interview answers more authentic – smart interviewers know things don’t always work out.
• It shows self-awareness and the confidence, maturity and judgment to tackle difficult topics.
• It demonstrates resilience and character in overcoming self-doubt and adversity.
• It shows you have an important skill that is always valued – and which is often not listed in position descriptions – the ability to turn bad situations around.
• It will demonstrate your authenticity and make you more relatable.

Getting the positioning right

When things go wrong we can beat ourselves up, or we can see mistakes as a spur to improvement. Turning a negative into a positive in a job interview means not emphasising what went wrong but focussing on how you made things right or became a better practitioner because of your experience.

We shouldn’t see mistakes as final judgments on ourselves but as opportunities to adapt, and build confidence and perseverance. In job interviews, as in life, it’s important not to let a good mistake go to waste.