Most jobs include dealing with problems and difficult situations occasionally. Interviewers want to know how applicants overcome obstacles and whether they will be able to deal positively with setbacks. Most people will say they can do this, but interviewers want specific examples of how applicants showed drive and perseverance, especially when facing potentially difficult situations.
Talking about failures can be uncomfortable since people typically don’t want to dwell on their mistakes. The fact is, we all fail at some point, and interviewers want to know if applicants have enough self-awareness to admit that. They also want to know what the applicant learned and what changes were made based on that experience.
Choosing a good example is very important here. Even though interviewers may use the word “failure,” it doesn’t mean applicants are expected to share the most awful and humiliating thing that’s ever happened to them. Instead, they are looking for something that had some importance and could have been handled another way.
Interviewers also don’t want to hear examples that are too simple or aren’t really failures or challenges. They don’t want to hear someone forgot to send an email until the next day or ordered the wrong sandwich at lunch.