Behavioral

Please tell us about a time when you made a big mistake at work.

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Anonymous

a year ago
I need to discuss a time when conflicts arose with the cross-functional security team due to a mistake on my part. The security process usually takes two to three months, depending on the project size. When starting a new project, we initiate a conversation with the security team. We present our high-level design, get approval, and then proceed with the low-level implementation. Once our APIs are implemented in pre-production, we work with the team to get them tested, which is the final step for security approval.

During the security review, we made an important decision that the security team had concerns about. Although I was able to convince them of the benefits of our decision, when we were later doing testing, they raised the same concern about duplicating data without a paper trail to support our prior agreement.

Realizing my mistake, I immediately scheduled a meeting, discussed the past trade-off points, and got the approval. To prevent similar issues in the future, I created a framework for working with cross-functional teams. This framework ensures that all agreements and sign-offs have a paper trail and email confirmation from the relevant stakeholders. I also began recording meetings and ensuring all important details are documented for clarity.

When working with the same cross-functional security team on my next project, I followed this framework. As a result, everything went smoothly, and the security manager appreciated the improved communication. Due to these improvements, we completed the entire project a day ahead of schedule. Thank you.

Anonymous

7 months ago
3.8Strong
I managed a team with 2 Senior Engineers who disagreed on the approach to solving a big problem. I had the entire time discuss the solutions and determine which one was a stronger proposal. Both Senior Engineers were able to present their solutions and the team hashed out the pros and cons and came to a conclusion. It worked so well that when this decision was challenged outside the team the Senior Engineer who did not win the discussion stood up and defended the decision like it was his own

Anonymous

20 days ago
3.6Strong
I was managing organization wide restructuring program where goal was to map all resources with their delivery accounts to keep a track of account’s PnL and manage capability as cost centre. We also intended to design KRA and KPIs for each individual level to make our Performance Assessment data driven and transparent. This was a big change at employee level at professional and emotional level too. It meant changes in their reporting structures, extra reporting and performance management by all managers, clear KPIs alignment and selection.
Planning Level: We identified all the major business account heads, capability and other function head and organized a communication platform to make them aware and comfortable with the changes. We undertook their inputs on pros and cons and some caution to be exercised
Execution Level: We started executing these changes with L0 level employees and moved up to leadership team. Along the way we encountered some risks and outlier conditions to be managed.
Communication Strategy: We worked with all business and functional heads on our communication strategy to reach out to all the employees. Head multiple events and workshops to discuss the changes.
Data Platform changes: Evaluated all the data platform changes required and planned a phased out approach to bring those changes in the system as well.
However, when we were about to reach closure of this program, I realized that I have made a big mistake of readiness of our existing platforms to support all the changes required and existing data integrity. It really took a toll on everyone involved to clear up data accuracy before the changes could be introduced.

Anonymous

4 months ago
3.4Strong
One time I noticed that all of the items were past the expiration date. This was a huge safety issue and decided to toss them away. About 2 dozens items were tossed. It turns out, they weren’t expired and I had read the date incorrectly. Luckily, someone checked the bag and returned the stock. From this, I have learned to double with someone else before making a big decision. 
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  • Can you describe a situation where you made a significant error at work and how you handled it?
  • Tell me about a mistake you made in a professional setting and what you did to rectify the situation.
  • How have you learned from a mistake you made in a past job, and what did you do to prevent it from happening again?
  • Can you give an example of a time when you made a mistake that had a significant impact on your work, and how you resolved it?
  • Describe a time when you failed to meet a deadline or objective at work and what you did to remedy the situation.
  • Tell us about a time when you made a costly mistake at work and how you took responsibility for it.
  • Can you share a situation where a mistake you made caused a problem with a coworker, client, or manager, and how you resolved the issue?
  • How did you handle a situation where you realized you made a mistake at work that affected others, and what did you do to make it right?
  • Describe a time when you made a mistake that affected a project's outcome and what you did to recover from it.
  • Tell me about a time when you made a significant mistake in your work, what you learned from it, and how you applied that knowledge going forward.
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Interview question asked to Backend Engineers, Frontend Engineers, Data Scientists and other roles interviewing at Skyscanner, Prezi, Agoda and others: Please tell us about a time when you made a big mistake at work..