This article will explain how to answer the job interview questions ‘what is your biggest regret?’
To best answer any job interview question, the applicant needs to think about:
- The advertised job role
- The company culture
- Required skills or knowledge.
This is because, an employer will have an ideal answer they are looking for. Meaning, for each interview question there is a reason.
The job interview, in short, is designed to predict the job performance of the further employee. As each interviewer will ask around 8 job interview questions, the recruiter doesn’t want to waste an opportunity to undercovers a required skill or trait by asking a pointless question.
The first thing each applicant should ask, when hearing an interview question, is:
- What is the reason for this question?
- What skill, knowledge or experience is the employer interested in hearing about?
- Is there a hidden meaning?
The ‘biggest regret’ interview question.
The ‘biggest regret’ interview question is another way to ask ‘tell me about a mistake you have made?’ or ‘what are your weaknesses?’
For all negatively framed job interview questions, applicants need to train themselves not to answer the question on face value.
The biggest mistake interviewees make is listing regrets, mistakes and weaknesses.
“My biggest regrets was when I worked at….., also I regret not doing……and…..”
Listing a high number of regrets, mistakes and weaknesses will only result in a low-scoring job interview answer.
In fact, employers aren’t looking for a damaging interview answer – this isn’t a trick question.
What a hiring manager wants to hear is, what the applicant learned from the regret, the employer is wanting to hear the career professionals journey.
Applicants, therefore, should reference the regret, while focusing the main part of the interview answer on lessons learned. It is the journey the employer is interested in.
The job interview formula is: situation x regret x learning journey
How to answer the ‘regret’ interview question.
The 3 stages to the interview anwswer are:
- Situation
- Regret
- Learning/Journey
Situation
In the interview answer opening, it is important to set the scene.
Explain the situation. This could be a problem the applicant, team or organisation faced, a business as usual task that went wrong or a new company objective.
“When working at X company, we were faced with (a problem). If not resolved this could lead to (negative outcome)….”
In the second part of the situation opening, the applicant can explain their role and their actions.
“…as the team leader I was responsible for A, B and C. To resolve the issue I (add actions taken)…”
Regret
The ‘regret’ needs to be reframed as a learning point.
If possible, stay away from over using the word regret. Instead, talk about reflection, or use ‘if I was undertaking the same task I would do it differently’
Remember a ‘regret’ example doesn’t mean that the applicant has to discuss a failure, instead the interview answer can be about a successful event, that could have been completed in a better way.
An example of this could be a career professional regretting not studying at university as they took the apprenticeship route option. What is important is the learning, not the regret.
Start the answer second part of the interview answer by stating the regret
- “I regret taking the apprenticeship route rather then studying at university…”
- “I regret not looking into other others that could have (saved overhead cost/increased production/etc)…”
- “I regret listening to the advice of others when I should has used my own experience….”
The word ‘regret’ can be easily replaced by rewording the interview answer:
- “I don’t think taking the apprenticeship route was the best for me….”
- “I could have looked into other options that could have saved…”
- “I wish I had listened to my own experience rather the listening to the advice of others…”
Learning/Journey
The learning journey comes in two parts.
Part 1 – past choice
Part 2 – future self
Past Choice
Learning comes from reflection.
In the past choice section it is important to expand on the reason for the choice (regret) as this expands on the initial situation.
“…On reflection I made this choice because of (add reasons)…”
The choice, the reason for the regret, could potentially be down to the direction of a manager, company culture or lack of experience.
Next, discuss the other options.
When explain the other options state the reason why they, at the time, didn’t seem appropriate.
“…The other option was to (add option). If I took this option, the benefits would have been (state positives) but the (barrier/risk) included (add negatives) which is why I went with the first option.”
Future Self.
Finally, show learning.
“Looking back, I have preferred (other choice) as this would have (state better outcome)…”
Explain what was learnt because of the experience.
“…but the experience taught me (add lessons leant) which has now (add a benefit from the learning experience)..”
End with a future action.
“..if i was in the same situation again I would A, B and C”
Example interview answer.
Putting all the elements together, an example answer would look like:
“When working at X company, we were faced with (a problem). If not resolved this could lead to (negative outcome)……as the team leader I was responsible for A, B and C.
To resolve the issue I (add actions taken)…I wish I had listened to my own experience rather the listening to the advice of others….On reflection I made this choice because of (add reasons)…..The other option was to (add option). If I took this option, the benefits would have been (state positives) but the (barrier/risk) included (add negatives) which is why I went with the first option.
Looking back, I have preferred (other choice) as this would have (state better outcome)…..but the experience taught me (add lessons leant) which has now (add a benefit from the learning experience)….if I was in the same situation again I would A, B and C”
