Page 113 - Boost Your Hiring

The Manager’s Hiring IQ Test 99

INTERVIEWER’S QUESTION
46. Give me an example of a time when you made a mistake re-
lated to your work.
Which response actually answers the question? Which answer
should you be wary of? Are there any red flags?

(A) “This was a painful lesson for me. It was when I misquoted a
price to the customer. Unfortunately, my company had to
stand by my quote, and that cost it some money. I didn’t get
fired, but I did get a reprimand. That was a mistake that I will
not make again. I always double-check now.”
(B) “I’m not perfect, and have made mistakes in my career. But I
don’t dwell on mistakes. I learn from the incident and move on.
Fortunately, none of my mistakes have been that big or cost
the company any money.”

(C) “I was a restaurant manager, and it was my responsibility to
estimate and order supplies. There was an incident when I for-
got about a local celebration that affected our business.When I
saw we were going to run out of ingredients for main dishes, I
drove to the local market and purchased the goods. Because I
had such a great staff, we were able to pull together and work
hard. We were tired but did not lose a single customer and I
learned a lesson about planning ahead.”

I think the strongest answer is ____.