As both a manager and a peer interviewer, my favorite question to ask is, Tell me about a time when you failed. Why did it happen? What did you do next?

I ask it to try to truly get at the person’s experience level, problem solving abilities, and intercommunication skills. It shows their ability to think critically about themselves.

A good answer provides an example, either of a reasonable risk or a situation beyond the person’s control. How the person dealt with the situation reveals a great deal: Do they try to solve things on their own? Do they enlist their teammates’ help? Do they simply give up and pass the situation on to their manager?

A bad answer is I’ve never been in that situation. Anyone who has never failed has never tried anything new and isn’t the type of person I want working for me or with me.