Tell me about a goal you were serious about and still fell short of. What did you do once the gap was clear?
Why this works
People who set real goals miss some; a candidate with no miss on record has been setting safe ones. Scoring shifts from the outcome to the response — when they saw it coming, what they salvaged, what they set differently since — none of which a polished success story covers.
Follow-up probes
- When did you first know you'd miss, and what did you do?
- What did you salvage, and what did you let go?
- How do you set or check goals differently now?
What good looks like
Stakes worth caring about, early recognition of the gap instead of a deadline surprise, a deliberate salvage or renegotiation, and a changed goal-setting habit they can point to.
Red flags
The miss is explained entirely by other people or bad luck, the goal turns out to be trivial, or the story ends at the shortfall with nothing done differently since.
Build the interview around it
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