Can anyone give me ideas on how to answer the question, "Please tell us about something which did not turn out as you expected"?

[njones95]

It feels like it should be an easy question to answer. However, most of my work experience has been in areas where certainly a lot of unexpected stuff happened on a daily basis, but I can't share any details about specific scenarios, because of client confidentiality.

I'd rather just give this question a one word answer, "life", but I guess that wouldn't go down well...

How would you answer it? I promise not to copy! I just feel like it'd be helpful to get some pointers.

 

[Jessica Booker]

You could focus on one of your client examples - you don't have to name the client and can be vague in places to ensure people/places/names/companies wouldn't be identified.

 

[James Carrabino]

It feels like it should be an easy question to answer. However, most of my work experience has been in areas where certainly a lot of unexpected stuff happened on a daily basis, but I can't share any details about specific scenarios, because of client confidentiality.

I'd rather just give this question a one word answer, "life", but I guess that wouldn't go down well...

How would you answer it? I promise not to copy! I just feel like it'd be helpful to get some pointers.

This is a tricky question as I am not quite sure whether it is looking for your adaptability in a certain situation (in which case I would use one of your client examples as @Jessica Booker suggested, redacting confidential information), or whether it is more getting at your 'life' answer 🤣

Honestly though, I think that an equally good answer would be one where you identify a direction that you thought your life was going to take and then consider how it took another direction instead, perhaps serendipitously!

 

[njones95]

Thanks both! Would you say it is better (as a very rough, general rule) to always give an example of work experience, or does it seem more well-rounded to also give examples of general life experience in an application?

 

[Jessica Booker]

Thanks both! Would you say it is better (as a very rough, general rule) to always give an example of work experience, or does it seem more well-rounded to also give examples of general life experience in an application?

I'd always go with whatever you think is your best example. I wouldn't necessarily go as broad as life in general, but you can use personal experiences to highlight specific times things haven't gone to plan, rather than just work examples. Sometimes work examples are not always the most impressive - people just feel they are impressive due to it being in a professional environment, but they can lack the substance of what the answer is really looking for.

My only advice is to try and avoid not using examples like getting into your first choice of university as this will be something a lot of people reference in these types of questions (and ultimately why most educational systems make you apply for multiple universities). Same with not getting your expected grades for a particular course or qualification. Try to pick something more unique to you and that maybe not everyone could use.