If you’re preparing to interview a candidate, you’re probably asking yourself one question:

How do I know if this person is actually the right hire?

Resumes can tell you where someone has worked.

References can tell you what someone else thought of them.

Interviews can tell you whether they’re prepared.

But none of those things guarantee they’ll succeed in the role.

No single interview question can tell you with complete certainty whether someone is the right hire for your small business. However, there is one question that consistently reveals qualities like self-awareness, accountability, coachability, and problem-solving. These are competencies that are often much harder to identify than technical skills or experience.

Here’s the question:

“Tell me about a mistake you made at work. What happened, and what did you learn from it?”

The answer isn’t valuable because of the mistake itself.

It’s valuable because of what it reveals about the person sitting across from you.

Why This Question Works

Most interview questions focus on what someone has done.

Tell me about yourself.
What are your strengths?
Why do you want this job?
Where do you see yourself in five years?

Candidates expect those questions.

Many have practiced their answers.

The question about mistakes is different.

It asks candidates to reflect on a real experience instead of reciting a polished response.

And that’s where you begin to see how they think, how they learn, and how they respond when things don’t go according to plan.

Don’t Listen for the Story. Listen for the Competencies.

One of the biggest interviewing mistakes is paying too much attention to what happened.

Instead, pay attention to how the candidate talks about what happened.

This one question can reveal several competencies, which are the skills and behaviors that contribute to job success. Competencies are difficult to assess through a résumé alone.

Self-Awareness

Can the candidate honestly reflect on their own performance?

Self-aware people recognize both their strengths and their opportunities for growth. They don’t pretend to be perfect, and they aren’t afraid to admit when something didn’t go as planned.

Employees with strong self-awareness are often easier to coach because they’re open to learning and willing to adjust their approach when needed.

If a candidate struggles to admit they’ve ever made a mistake; or immediately shifts the blame to someone else, it may suggest they’ll have a harder time accepting feedback or growing within the role.

Accountability

Listen carefully to the language they use.

Do they say:

“My manager didn’t explain it very well.”

Or do they say:

“Looking back, I should have asked more questions.”

Great employees don’t avoid responsibility.

They take ownership of the parts they can control.

That doesn’t mean they accept blame for everything—but they focus on what they learned rather than who was at fault.

Employees who demonstrate accountability are often more resilient, proactive, and trustworthy because they spend less time making excuses and more time solving problems.

Coachability

One of the strongest predictors of long-term success isn’t whether someone knows everything today.

It’s whether they’re willing to keep learning tomorrow.

As the candidate answers, ask yourself:

Did they learn something meaningful?
Can they explain how they changed their approach afterward?
Do they seem genuinely open to feedback?

The best employees don’t succeed because they never make mistakes.

They succeed because they learn from them.

Communication

Pay attention to how they tell the story.

Can they explain the situation clearly?

Can they organize their thoughts?

Do they communicate honestly without becoming defensive?

Strong communication skills show up long before someone starts working for you.

They’re often reflected in how someone explains difficult situations, discusses challenges, and takes ownership during an interview.

Problem-Solving

Mistakes happen in every workplace.

What matters is what someone does next.

Did they freeze?

Did they wait for someone else to fix it?

Or did they take initiative to solve the problem?

You’re learning how they approach challenges—not just whether they’ve faced them.

Emotional Intelligence

Finally, notice whether they recognize how their actions affected other people.

Do they acknowledge the impact on a customer?

A teammate?

Their manager?

Employees with strong emotional intelligence understand that their work affects the people around them. They’re often better collaborators, communicators, and leaders because they can see beyond their own perspective.

What Great Answers Sound Like

Strong candidates rarely claim they’ve never made a mistake.

Instead, they tell honest stories that include:

What happened.
The role they played.
What they learned.
What they changed afterward.

For example:

“I misunderstood a client’s expectations because I assumed I knew what they wanted instead of asking more questions. Since then, I summarize every project in writing before getting started. It slowed me down at first, but it’s prevented misunderstandings ever since.”

That’s a candidate who’s demonstrating ownership, learning, and growth.

What Should Raise a Red Flag

Not every answer is equally encouraging.

Pay attention if a candidate:

Says they’ve never made a mistake.
Blames everyone else.
Avoids answering the question.
Can’t explain what they learned.
Tells a story where nothing changed afterward.
Becomes defensive instead of reflective.

Remember, you’re not looking for perfect people.

You’re looking for people who are willing to improve.

What This Question Won’t Tell You

This is an incredibly powerful interview question.

But it isn’t magic.

It won’t tell you:

Whether someone naturally enjoys detailed work.
How adaptable they are.
How they compare to the competencies your specific role requires.
Whether they’ll thrive in your unique work environment.
Whether the day-to-day responsibilities align with their natural strengths.

That’s why great hiring decisions never rely on one interview question alone.

Instead, they combine resumes, structured interviews, assessment results, reference checks, and objective hiring data to build a more complete picture of each candidate.

Better Interviews Start Before You Ask the First Question

The best interviewers don’t simply ask better questions.

They prepare better.

Before you interview anyone, you should know:

What success looks like in the role.
Which competencies matter most.
Which behaviors you’re trying to uncover.
Which follow-up questions you’ll ask.

If you’re building your first team or growing your company, learn how we help small and growing businesses hire with greater clarity by identifying the competencies that matter before you start interviewing.

Great Hiring Decisions Come From Better Information

Interviews will always be an important part of hiring.

So will your instincts.

But neither should carry the entire decision.

When you combine thoughtful interview questions with objective information about how someone naturally approaches work, you’re far more likely to identify the person who will succeed—not just the person who interviews well.

Because the goal isn’t to hire the candidate that interviews the best.

It’s to hire the right employee.