09.02.23 Today’s Insights from ERE: The Importance of Candidates’ Admitting Mistakes, in a Job Interview
Dear Students,
You’d probably agree that discussing your mistakes in an interview is one of your least favorite things to do.
At the same time, since self-awareness, ability to learn from failure, dedication to continuous improvement and humility are highly-prized Western values, even ambitious international students like you need to become comfortable admitting that sometimes things did not work out as you had hoped.
Unwillingness to admit to personal errors casts doubt on a candidate’s competency in all four of the above areas and thus also makes it more challenging to be successfully selected from among a competitive pool. As global companies seek out individuals whom they perceive to be trustworthy, a student’s pretending that s/he has never failed casts doubt on whether this individual would be a great teammate and coworker.
Mark Murphy, the writer of this brief yet powerful piece, and a NY Times Best-selling author who has trained leaders at the UN, Harvard Business School, Microsoft and elsewhere, makes one key point: applicants like you, who can demonstrate that you have taken personal responsibility for your errors, are those who will stand out in the hiring process.
In working with our Mandarin Consulting coaches, aspiring global professionals like you can learn to resist the expectation – and yet the illusion – of perfection – which you may have grown up feeling was necessary to get hired at a premier company, and instead, our coaches can support you in realizing that not only do we all make mistakes, but that what really matters is what happens after the mistake.