Vent: The 3rd interview loop question that always trips people up

Honestly, I've sat on hiring panels for about 4 years now and every single time, the candidate who gets stuck is the one who can't explain a failure with specifics. They say 'I made a mistake' and stop there, but we need dates, numbers, and what you actually changed after. I saw a guy in Austin last month tank a great resume because he said 'we missed a deadline' and couldn't say by how many days or what he fixed. It matters because we're not trying to catch you, we're trying to see if you can problem solve under pressure. Has anyone else noticed this pattern in their own interviews, or am I just seeing a weird sample here?

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xena_brown5013d ago

I get what you're saying about specifics, but honestly, I think people overblow this whole thing. Sure, it's nice when someone has numbers ready, but most folks freeze up in interviews and it doesn't mean they can't problem solve on the job. I've hired people who gave vague failure stories and they turned out fine. Maybe the real issue is that your panel is looking for a certain script, and that's more about fitting your style than actual ability. Take this with a grain of salt, but I've seen way more harm from passing on good people because they didn't quote exact dates.