Parsing Prior Experience Questions

The first response details some do’s and don’ts.

Question #1

Tell me about a time when you experienced failure.

Response

“I was leading the implementation of new shipping and inventory management systems for 35 manufacturing plants. During our pilot plant implementation, we had major hardware failures with the scanning solution installed on forklifts. The failures were so bad that we had to resort to manual processes to keep the business going. This required us to double our staffing during the pilot. I delayed further rollouts by 8 weeks to solve the hardware problems, increasing costs. The failures during the pilot created concerns with our stakeholders that we had to overcome.”

Take a look at this answer again. Did you notice how many times “we” was used versus “I”? Now, let’s take a look at another version of the same response.

Alternate response

" I learned how important it is to take responsibility for a failure as the leader of a team. By taking responsibility, acknowledging the problems, and committing to solutions, I was able to keep the support of the plant leadership. I also remembered that a few of the team members had asked me before the launch about doing more hardware testing and I had dismissed their concerns. I apologized to them and promised to do better going forward. My personal takeaway was to be a better listener and give full consideration to concerns that are brought to my attention."

How does this version of the answer read in comparison? Sounds more autonomous, right? When you’re doing the practice activities in this module, assess your use of “I” and “We” in your responses.