GGU School of Law|Law Career Development

Mistakes Are A Good Thing

by Jan Nussbaum
Assistant Director for Professional Development

I had dinner this past weekend with a long-time dear friend who worked with Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple. I haven’t read Steve Jobs’ biography, but since so many people are talking about it, I asked my friend what he thought Steve’s greatest strength was. Without hesitation my friend said that Steve truly learned from his mistakes, and that this made him much more insightful on later decisions.

I found this very interesting since I’ve repeatedly heard from hiring managers that they would rather hire someone who has made mistakes and learned from them than someone who only talks about how good they are at doing everything.

Susanne Aronowitz has a related article on the LCS Blog titled What’s Your Kryptonite that discusses what to do when an interviewer asks “what is your biggest weakness?” “’Do not try to disguise a positive as a negative with a canned baloney answer like, “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist.” Instead, give an honest answer about a time that you really goofed and put it in the context of what you learned from the experience.’ Showing a prospective employer how you learned from your mistake or overcame a challenge gives you an opportunity to demonstrate humility, highlight your newly developed skill set, and present yourself as someone who is constantly sharpening your abilities.”