Interview Question

[Risbell]

How would you answer the question "Name a time when the outcome was not good". This question was asked in a job interview.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I would answer by giving them an example when the outcome was not good. That's what they asked for: that's what you should give them.

I would try to give them example where the result was not good where it was not my fault that things went bad. (e.g. patient death, class I taught did not go well, parent upset, etc.) I would describe the situation, tell what I had done to try to make it a good outcome, discuss the situational factors that led to a bad outcome (don't blame anyone else in particular), and then discuss what I did to help clean up the mess and/or improve whatever I could for the future -- and what I learned from the situation.

[t3mama]

llg's response is perfect and exactly what they are looking for in behavioral based questions like this.

My husband is in HR, and interviews like this are typically looking for the "STAR" approach to answering this type of question.

"The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question bydiscussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. Youmust describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done inthe past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can befrom a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount ofdetail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particularcontribution? Be careful that you don't describe what the team or group did when talking about aproject, but what you actually did. Use the word I,” not we” when describing actions.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don't be shy about taking credit for yourbehavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did youlearn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results. "