I am in the process of interviewing people to fill in positions at my company. And in my field, teamwork, and the ability to think and react on the fly is crucial. I have noticed that when I ask situational questions, that it trips some people up. You know questions like Can you tell me about a time when you messed up?.

Why hiring managers ask these questions. Well these questions are designed to be a challenge, demonstrate that you know how to think on your feet and respond to curve balls while giving you the chance to display positive attributes such as honesty, empathy and humility.

From my experience, situational questions are hard to prep for.

Tell me a time when you failed? Sure this is a touchy subject and can bring out your insecurities BUT without failure, you can't learn, and if you don't learn, and without learning, you do not understand the lesson to modify your behavior in the future.

The answer to this question is to identify something that is an actual point of weakness for you, and to share what you've done since to prevent it from happening again and what might you do differently if it did happen again.

Describe a situation when you had to work with a difficult manager or client, and you had to persuade them to accept your POV or convince them to change their tactic?

The best approach to this question is the acronym STAR which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result If you clearly and concisely explain the background of the situation, without negativity, this will show that you are mature and organized in your thought process.

Then you discuss the task or problem you wanted to change. This will provide insight on your people's skills and critical thinking abilities. And sharing the result will naturally close the story. The key takeaways are not only what you've done, but what you've learned and you will show them how you will act in the future.

Tell me about a situation when you realized a colleague or higher-up was doing something incorrectly or needed assistance but they didn't think so at the time. How did you realize that and what did you do?

Situational questions are usually tailored to the specific job role. And most employers are looking for someone who is able to approach a conflict situation that's uncomfortable for them with humility and an open mindset.

So this question allows you to show the interviewer that you are able to put yourself in other people's shoes and figure out how they would want a situation like this to go over. It's about being able to stop and think about the question instead of coming up with the right answer. It can be tempting to rush through it, but interviewers appreciate it when you put thought into your answer and take a second to really think through things. There's no rush.. :)

You're working with a difficult co-worker and it affects your performance, and work. How would you communicate with your both your co-worker and your boss?

This situational question provides insight on the skills needed to a effective communicator. You need to know how to communicate with people who aren't your workplace bestie or when things aren't going your way. It's important to show that you can be diplomatic and communicate effectively during the good, bad and ugly.

When have you made a potentially career ending mistake and what did you learn from it? This question provides insight if you're someone who is comfortable with mistakes and learning from them. It shows humility and forward-thinking with the capability to learn. I look for people who are willing to admit they make mistakes as I want someone who admits mistakes rather than hide them. It's quicker to correct an issue right away until the situation becomes untenable.

I don't ever want to trick people or make them feel an quick 15-30 minute interview difficult for no reason. I know that interviews are nerve-racking enough, but this question can reveal any career ending mistakes that are potentially unethical or problematic

There are tons of different situational questions an interviewer can and will ask you. But, know that a job interview is not a test of your knowledge but your ability to use it at the right time. So go in there and remember you're fantastic!

Good Luck!