This HR interview question is a minefield. “One question within the question is whether you learn from your mistakes or keep repeating the same errors,” says Kennedy. Similarly, the HR interviewer may be trying to glean whether you’re too self-important or not self-aware enough to take responsibility for your failings. Perhaps even more problematic, if you answer this HR Interview question by providing a list of all your negative traits or major misdeeds, then you’re practically spelling out your insecurities and guaranteeing you won’t get the job. So you don’t want to skirt the question or make yourself look bad. “Briefly mention a single small, well-intentioned goof and follow up with an important lesson learned from the experience,” she advises.