Asking About a Missed Deadline


business, office, school and education concept - stressed busineInterview Question: Tell me about a time when you were unable to meet a deadline.


No one ever likes to discuss a failure to perform. That being said it is critical that you get some taste of how your candidate for hire deals with pressure, with failure, and with discussing their failure. Are you hearing an acceptance of responsibility or mostly excuses? Are you hearing about an issue that seems tied to the candidate’s work style and skills or something more tied to the conditions in which they work? Do they seem to have a true appreciation for the seriousness of missing the discussed deadline. You’ll draw a fair amount of solid information out of the candidate with this question….so listen carefully.