Tell me about a mistake you made that affected other people.
Describe the mistake honestly, how you discovered it, how quickly you told the people affected, what you did to fix it, and what you changed so it would not happen again.
Explain it simply
This is harder than the failure question because others paid for your error. The interviewer wants to see accountability: did you hide it, or did you own it fast?
A good story shows quick disclosure, a fix, an apology where needed, and a system change (a checklist, a test, a double-check) rather than a vague promise to be careful.
Example
Situation: As treasurer of the college coding club, Harsh sent the wrong UPI collection link for a workshop fee, so 30 payments went to an old account.
Task: Fix the mess and protect members' money.
Action: He noticed the next morning when payments did not show up. He posted on the group immediately, owned the mistake, and stopped further payments. He worked with the faculty coordinator to transfer the money back to the correct account, and made a list matching every payment to a name. He then added a rule that any payment link is checked by a second member before sharing.
Result: No one lost money, the workshop went ahead, and the two-person check is still used by the club.
What to say in the interview
"I made an error with X that affected Y people. I told everyone as soon as I found it, fixed it by doing Z, and added a check so it couldn't happen again."
Common mistakes
- Picking a mistake nobody else was affected by.
- Downplaying the impact.
- Ending with "I'll be more careful" and no real change.