Tell me about a mistake you made at work or in your studies that taught you the most.

A natural way to answer

Early on, I took on far too much because I couldn't say no, and I ended up missing an important deadline. It was a hard lesson, but it taught me to be honest about my limits and ask for help before things get out of hand.

Key phrases to use

• own up to — to admit honestly that you did something wrong“He owned up to the mistake straight away.”
• hit send — to send an email or message by pressing the button“I always read it twice before I hit send.”
• get out of hand — to become impossible to control“I asked for help before things got out of hand.”
• cut corners — to do something quickly and cheaply by skipping proper steps“If you cut corners now, it costs you later.”