🎯 Interview Question of the Week: Tell Me About a Time You Failed

TL;DR: Failure Is Not the Red Flag. Silence Is.

Recruiters are not testing whether you have failed. They are testing how you respond when things go wrong. The strongest answers show ownership, reflection, and behavioral change.

🎥 What This Episode Covers

In episode four of the interview series, Leshore breaks down how to answer:

“Tell me about a time you failed.”

He shares a real example from one of his first internships where he was leading a cross functional project with a tight deadline.

His responsibility was coordinating stakeholders in finance and keeping the project on track.

The failure?

He underestimated how long certain dependencies would take and did not flag risks early enough. The team missed the timeline, and he owned that completely.

🧠 The Lesson: Silence Helps No One

The turning point was realizing that staying quiet about risks does not protect a project. It harms it.

Since that experience, he built the habit of:

• Surfacing risks earlier
• Talking to teammates sooner
• Aligning expectations with managers before problems escalate
• Addressing issues proactively instead of reactively

That shift made him a stronger and more proactive leader.

🧩 The Framework That Makes This Answer Work

Leshore structures his answer using the START method:

Situation
Task
Action
Result
Takeaways

This gives the interviewer a clear and concise story to follow.

Most importantly, he names a real failure and clearly explains what he learned from it.

That combination signals maturity, accountability, and growth.

🔍 Why This Answer Lands Internships

Recruiters look for:

• Ownership instead of blame
• Reflection instead of excuses
• Behavior change instead of regret
• Proactive communication

The failure itself is not the issue. Lack of growth is.

Showing how you changed after the mistake proves you can handle responsibility in future roles.

📌Want to Master the Hardest Interview Questions?

Every week, we break down real interview questions with structured answers that help you land internships and jobs faster.

Follow the series and start practicing before your next interview.