Most people fear failure and make it as an excuse for not being able to succeed in the long run of life. But in actuality, failure is a massive part of being able to be successful. It is where all the lessons to become better and to grow are. Successful people fail a lot too, but what they do differently is that they extract the lessons from the failure, and use that energy and wisdom to come around to the next phase of success.

HR interviews as we know can be divided into Situational, Behavioral, and open-ended/ common HR interview questions.

This question is important to HR managers because it reveals crucial information about you, and it will most likely convince them if you are the right person to fill up the position. So let us make sure to prevent it from a deal breaker to a deal maker.

Interviewers want to learn how you maintain your composure, attitude, energy, and focus when you aren't successful. They will also want to determine if you have the confidence to admit your failings, learn from your mistakes, and successfully move on.

The best approach for handling this kind of question is to identify some scenarios when you came up short on the job in advance of your interview. Choose situations where you took responsibility for your failure, learned from it, and took steps to avoid recurrences of similar failures.

While your response won’t necessarily tell interviewers exactly how you’d handle a problem at work, it will reveal how you think about adversity and your ability to overcome it. It will also show whether you can deal with conflict. No one likes to talk about their shortcomings with a stranger, and your attitude will show whether you’re able to navigate these challenges.

Tips for Giving the Best Answer: Share an Example of a Failure You Addressed Successfully.

Be ready to tell a story about a time when you failed and then addressed that failure (to great success, obviously). Most interviewers will follow up if you provide a general statement of how you deal with these situations, so it’s best to be prepared.

Choose a specific example of when and how you failed. You might be inclined to avoid this question altogether or to speak about something generally that you improved on. While it might seem you look better, but its actually more impressive to an employer when you can acknowledge your mistakes and talk about what you learnt from it.

To prepare your answer to this question, think about the specific times you have fallen short in the past, especially in the workplace. Pick something where you can pinpoint exactly how you failed. Choosing something that happened a bit earlier will help you feel more comfortable to talk openly about. It will also reassure your potential employer that you’ve grown and moved past this failure.

What Not to Say: Don’t Focus on the Negative.

What you don’t say in your answer can be as important as what you do say. Avoid references to any failures that expose inadequacies that limit your ability to carry out core components of the job.

The only exception to this rule would be if you could tell a very compelling story about how you eliminated those weaknesses. But again, be careful.

Avoid mentioning any failures that may make you appear like you are unqualified for the job. Do not mention failures that will show your inability to carry out the job. You do not want to show the employer that you will fail on the job.

Do not be afraid to come up with an unconventional answer

For sure you know how it goes in the interviews. Most job candidates come up with typical answers, saying the same thing gurus from some big websites in careers niche advise them to say. And while these answers are OK, they are nothing special, nothing a typical hiring manager hasn’t heard a hundred times before.

If you want to stand out in an interview and you should try to do so, especially when competing with many people for the job, you should not be afraid to say something unconventional.

Many interviewers love asking about failures, but this question won’t be the only difficult question you will face while interviewing for a great job. You will face questions about prioritization, dealing with pressure, adaptability, and other tricky situations that happen in the workplace.

Follow these tips and practice answering such HR interview questions before the interview, you can turn your nervousness into confidence.

All the Very Best!