Was I too honest in job interview?

[lemons82]

I had an internal job interview on Friday. I shared a story about a time when I made a quite a bad mistake at work and I took proactive steps to fix it. I’ve been worrying ever since that I should have kept quiet as the interview was with a senior manager who wasn’t aware of this mistake and now they are 😔 Any advice?

Oof that wasn’t wise! What was his reaction upon learning this?

however the key is - you fixed it

My boss would be impressed. If she knows then the shit has hit the fan if she is unaware it means you sorted the issue. She’d rather not hear about it as she trusts us to fix things.

In general, showing that you know you aren’t infallible, that you don’t stick your head in the sand about errors and that you will take steps to resolve them is a good thing to show in interviews. As long as your example didn’t involve you saying you didn’t tell your manager because you cleared it up so quickly.

But I might tell your immediate boss that you used that example, so your manager isn’t taken by surprise if the senior management asks about it.

Oh no 😔 Have I shot myself in the foot? It was in response to the question tell us about a time when something went wrong. I feel so upset that I’ve probably ruined my chances. The reason I shared it was because I got good feedback on how I handled the error at the time.

They didn’t really respond - they were just neutral throughout the interview.

As a manager I’d be impressed that you fixed the issue such that I had never been aware that there was one. A good manager appreciates proactivity as well as honesty. I wouldn’t overly worry.

Do try not to worry @lemons82

Internal interviews are unique because the interviewers likely already know your work history.

Admitting a mistake shows self-awareness, integrity and maturity provided you focussed heavily on the solution, accountability, and the learning experience.

Good luck 🌸

edited; for sp.

Ok so you did tell people and you fixed it

you just hadn’t told the senior manager.

So that’s not a big deal at all. What was his reaction?

Oh thank you. I’ve been tearing my hair out over it all weekend. Reading these replies has made me feel slightly better!

My logic was that everyone makes mistakes so if you can show you handled it well then that has got to be a good thing. But then I started to doubt myself! (I’m not very experienced with interviews).

I wouldn't worry about it. Senior managers don't tend to know every single that goes on - this will have been news to them and if they are a decent manager they will see it as a positive.

Op

what was his reaction???

Just neutral really, as they were throughout the interview. Hard to gauge.

Right so no surprise or anything. How do you know he didn’t know then? He could have been told what happened and that it had been fixed.

I think that’s fine and I would have found it refreshing that you used a genuine example and were willing to talk about it. Not all errors are worthy of senior management attention and as long as there wasn’t a deliberate cover up of the error then I don’t see the issue.

Really really depends on the job and interviewer. If it was me, I would think it’s good that you’re honest and proactive. If it was DH interviewing you you’d be in the bin.

Our three best hires were all made by me but also our worst hire ever was also made by me.

But you have to give some kind of answer to the question - I don’t think it would ring true to say I’d never made a mistake ever?

You don’t know he didn’t already know if he just remained neutral

I totally agree with you and that’s why I would see it as a positive. But some interviewers are more cautious and don’t appreciate that much honesty. I think next time air on the side of caution and maybe say something smaller? But personally I would rate it.

@GreenCaterpillarOnALeaf

"If it was DH interviewing you you’d be in the bin"

Just curious, can I ask why? Does he generally take a zero tolerance approach to mistakes even though a successful solution was found?

@lemons82 interview was internal, would that make a difference for him?

They definitely didn’t know. It was a bad mistake but nowhere near serious enough to alert senior management over.

He’s generally not a big risk taker in terms of hiring and since it was a big mistake he would probably not be too keen. He gets a lot of applicants as well vs when I was helping out with interviews we didn’t get as many. He kind of goes in with preconceived ideas about what he does/doesn’t want the answers to be where as I was open to taking more risks.

How do you know he definitely didn’t know. You said he heard and remained neutral.

I wouldn’t say I’m a risky hire as 99% of the time my work is a high standard and I’ve been there four years. But I did make this one error 😔

Oh guys I am kicking myself. Have I scuppered my chances of ever getting a promotion at this company?

Absolutely not I think you’re catastrophising this. Have a cup of tea and some biccies and try and chill :)