A mistake you have made?

[zempa]

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What is an appropriate response to a question like this? I spoke about missing a game winning shot in a game..but that seems really insignificant. On the other hand I didn't want to speak about grades. So there you go just as a future reference I'm wondering what a better topic to speak about would be?

 

[FlowRate]

I like your response. I honestly have no clue how I would respond. Everyone makes mistakes, I just learn from mine and forget then. You're definitely right that this is a hard question to optimize for interviews--what would an "ideal" applicant say?

 

[ThaliaNox]

Come on guys, this question isn't all that difficult. How about a first test in a class which took you by suprise and you did poorly on? Then you could talk about how you adjusted your study skills to fit the particular class and did well in the class overall. Or maybe how you once forgot about a meeting with a group to do a class project, followed up with saying that it taught you the importance of scheduling, and how your agenda book is now chained to your ankle and color coded. They don't want to know about the times you've messed up and didn't fix it, they want to know how you react to making mistakes.

 

[VooDooo327]

Answer: Not being prepared for that question

 

[zempa]

Come on guys, this question isn't all that difficult. How about a first test in a class which took you by suprise and you did poorly on? Then you could talk about how you adjusted your study skills to fit the particular class and did well in the class overall. Or maybe how you once forgot about a meeting with a group to do a class project, followed up with saying that it taught you the importance of scheduling, and how your agenda book is now chained to your ankle and color coded. They don't want to know about the times you've messed up and didn't fix it, they want to know how you react to making mistakes.

I felt that an answer along those lines would be somewhat standard and boring..

 

[Elpenor]

answer: Not being prepared for that question

+1

 

[corbis11]

dating my ex

 

[JoshUNCW]

dating my ex

+100

 

[loveoforganic]

"that tranny in vegas"

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

I sent my boss's medication to his son in another state. It was supposed to be refrigerated until first use. I FedExed it. It had to be FedExed back. Big waste of money. But I was new to the gig, and my boss was really nice about it. But you better believe I never made that one again.

Damn, I've made so many mistakes...I'm sure I'll have NO problem answering that question should it come up.🙄

 

[kami333]

Wasting a weeks worth of work by two people and about $1000 in reagents by forgetting to dilute something before using it (it was supposed to be diluted 100fold).
Result: Had to wait another week to finish experiment.
Lesson learned: always double check the protocol

Forgetting to turn the AC up in the server room after I was done working in there for the day.
Result: frantic calls from my subordinates at 7am about the servers overheating and crashing (HVAC tech blamed it on the dirty filter that we hadn't serviced in over a year). No significant data loss, just lost day's worth of productivity.
Lesson learned: Was double check your workspace before you leave for the night. Also, don't needlessly martyr yourself because they just might assign blame somewhere else.

Spent a week setting up a database for student logins. Forgot that the machine I was working on was going to be reimaged that week right before classes started.
Result: All data lost. Spent the whole weekend at work.
Lesson learned: Trust only my own equipment, and back up.