Why screwing up an interview is okay

Sometimes you can leave a job interview thinking that it was an absolute disaster. More often than not, the interview didn’t go as poorly as you think it did. You’re only being self-critical and doubtful because you really want the job and thought you could have come across better. Other times, though, we know deep down that we screwed up the interview, for one reason or another. Perhaps you said something inappropriate that put you in a negative light, or maybe you turned up half an hour late. Whatever the reason for the screw-up, it’s important not to beat yourself up about it. You should always use job interview mistakes as a learning experience. Here’s why screwing up an interview is okay – and can actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Learning from the screw-up

It’s easy to be hard on yourself for screwing up an interview. But if you get bogged down in self-criticism, you may lose motivation and hope when it comes to other job interviews. Instead, turn your bad interview into a learning experience. Pinpoint exactly what it was that went wrong. You can even ask interviewers for feedback about this – and while not all employers will have time to reply, if they do, you can use their comments to your advantage.

Screw-ups can be a source of motivation

If an interview turns out to be a disaster, it’s going to stick in your mind much more strongly than if you just made a couple of hiccups here and there. When you screw up an interview, it may give you a wake-up call as to how you have to prepare for your next interview. Indeed, screw-ups can be much more motivating than smaller mistakes, so long as you look at the experience in a positive light. 

It can be humbling to screw up

If you have any perfectionist tendencies or always strive to be a high achiever, screwing something up can be challenging. However, messing up a job interview doesn’t have to make you feel insecure. Be humbled by the experience. Recognise that you’re human and it’s okay to make mistakes. What’s important is that you accept that you will be clumsy from time to time, yet you still keep pushing forward to get to where you want to be.

The more difficult the journey, the greater the reward

We would all like the job application process to go as smoothly as possible. In an ideal situation, we would find our dream job, apply, get an interview, and wow the interviewers so much that they make a job offer on the spot. Unfortunately, though, things don’t usually turn out that way. The job search can be a journey paved with many difficulties. And screwing up a job interview is no exception. The silver lining of a challenging job search, however, is that it makes the reward of landing a job that much sweeter.

Using the screw-up as an opportunity

You may realise that you’ve screwed up a job interview while the interview is still going on or as it’s coming to an end. If that’s the case, you don’t want to just accept that you’ve messed things up and leave it at that. When the interviewer asks at the end of the interview if you have any questions or if there’s anything you’d like to add, bring up the mistake you think you’ve made. Also, if you’re not entirely sure you screwed up the interview, ask: “Is there anything that makes you think I wouldn’t be an ideal candidate for this role?” If the interviewer replies with something problematic you said during the interview, take some time to process their comments, and then address them. By owning your mistakes and showing determination to improve, you will impress the interviewers – and you may even be able to salvage the interview.

Sam Woolfe writes for Inspiring Interns, a graduate recruitment agency specialising in graduate jobs and internships in London. He is particularly interested in self-development, psychology, mental health, and the future of work. Most of all, though, Sam is passionate about helping people find work that is meaningful and fulfilling. You can follow him on Twitter and find more of his work at www.samwoolfe.com.