How to Rectify your Interview Mistakes? 

When your interviewer asked a tough question that caught you off guard, you started to ramble. Now you look baffled, or worse, annoyed.

This situation may seem unsalvageable, but it's actually an opportunity to "demonstrate your communication skills”. Here's what to do if you make a mistake while answering an interview question:

1. TAKE A PAUSE.

If you can tell you are headed in the wrong direction, don't stumble blindly ahead. Stop, take a deep breath and compose yourself. It’s important to be able to admit that you’re capable of making mistakes (as we all are), and that you’re willing and able to admit it. Therefore, you should refer to an actual mistake you made instead of attempting to appear that you don’t make any.

2. ACKNOWLEDGE THE MISTAKES.

It’s tempting to catalog how other people’s actions led to your error. But if you spend time during your interview talking about all the ways in which others — or the company itself — failed, you’re not actually admitting you made a mistake. Instead of pointing the finger at others, acknowledge the role you played. Your answer should be related to work; the interviewer doesn’t want to hear about the argument you had with your parents. Nor do you want to reveal any mistakes that could indicate a lack of professionalism on your part. Stick with school or work-related issues that stemmed from a true oversight or misunderstanding.

Everyone makes the occasional mistake at work. While you should own up to the fact that you’ve made errors in the past, keep the tone positive rather than apologetic. The most important strategy in answering this question is demonstrating that you’ve had the maturity to benefit from previous “learning experiences” and then to move on with increased wisdom and competency.

There are some phrases you can use to show you are perceptive and able to correct yourself:

"I am not sure I understood your question, could you please rephrase it?"

"Do you need more information about that?"

"Would it be helpful if I explain that a different way?"

3. PIVOT.    
   

If you don't know the right answer, be honest rather than bluff: “I don't know the answer, and I don't currently know enough about the topic to guess, but this is how I would gather more information”. Or, acknowledge your limited understanding and then weigh in: "I'm not entirely sure, but based on what I do know, here are a few ideas."If you really need to change the topic quickly, ask the interviewer a question to take yourself out of the spotlight.You can also reassure the interviewer by inviting her to probe more deeply into the topic causing her concern by using the following phrases:

"I want you to know everything about me so you can make the best decision. What else can I tell you?"

"From my perspective, I'm a great fit for this job. What's your take?"

STRONGLY EMPHASIS ON THE LESSONS LEARNED

Demonstrate that the mistake you made was not in vain. The interviewer wants to know that you can learn from your mistakes and take action to make sure they don’t happen again. By concluding the story of your mistake with what you learned, you can frame the incident in a positive light and show that you’re able to grow from your mistakes.