The interview question bank

A real past experience that shows how you work, lead, fail and recover.

• BehavioralIntermediate·Traditional one-on-one, Panel, MMI station · Most programs

  Tell me about a time you failed. What did you do next?

  Resilience · Self-awareness

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  Sample answer outline

  1. 1Pick a real failure with stakes that was your responsibility. Not a disguised success like "I cared too much".
  2. 2Set it up in two sentences, then own your part plainly: what you did or did not do.
  3. 3Spend most of the answer on what you did next: how you repaired what you could, who you told, what you changed.
  4. 4Prove the lesson stuck with a later moment where you handled a similar situation differently.

  What makes it work

  • Ownership without self-punishment reads as maturity.
  • The later example turns a lesson into evidence.

  Avoid

  • Blaming teammates or circumstances.
  • A failure so small it shows nothing, or so large it raises red flags you can't resolve.

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• BehavioralBeginner·Traditional one-on-one · OT

  Tell me about something you saw during your observation hours that changed how you think about OT.

  Self-awareness

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  How to approach tell me about a time questions

  1. 1Pick a real example with stakes. Set up the situation in two sentences.
  2. 2Spend most of your time on your own actions, and say "I", not only "we".
  3. 3Give an honest result, including what didn't work.
  4. 4End with what you learned and how you've used it since.

  We haven't written a sample answer for this one yet. Practice it out loud and the AI interviewer gives you feedback on your own answer.

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• BehavioralAdvanced·Traditional one-on-one, Panel · Most programs

  Describe a situation where you made a quick decision with incomplete information. What did you learn?

  Critical thinking · Self-awareness

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  How to approach tell me about a time questions

  1. 1Pick a real example with stakes. Set up the situation in two sentences.
  2. 2Spend most of your time on your own actions, and say "I", not only "we".
  3. 3Give an honest result, including what didn't work.
  4. 4End with what you learned and how you've used it since.

  We haven't written a sample answer for this one yet. Practice it out loud and the AI interviewer gives you feedback on your own answer.

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• BehavioralBeginner·Traditional one-on-one, Panel · Most programs

  Tell me about a time you had to earn back someone's trust after a mistake.

  Integrity · Self-awareness

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  How to approach tell me about a time questions

  1. 1Pick a real example with stakes. Set up the situation in two sentences.
  2. 2Spend most of your time on your own actions, and say "I", not only "we".
  3. 3Give an honest result, including what didn't work.
  4. 4End with what you learned and how you've used it since.

  We haven't written a sample answer for this one yet. Practice it out loud and the AI interviewer gives you feedback on your own answer.

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• BehavioralBeginner·Traditional one-on-one, Panel · Most programs

  What did you learn the last time you received harsh feedback?

  Self-awareness · Resilience

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  How to approach itHide

  How to approach tell me about a time questions

  1. 1Pick a real example with stakes. Set up the situation in two sentences.
  2. 2Spend most of your time on your own actions, and say "I", not only "we".
  3. 3Give an honest result, including what didn't work.
  4. 4End with what you learned and how you've used it since.

  We haven't written a sample answer for this one yet. Practice it out loud and the AI interviewer gives you feedback on your own answer.

  Open the question page