When I talk about how to discuss a failed project, I don’t mean that a project is a failure if it didn’t turn out the way you wanted or expected. In fact, many projects that don’t turn out as planned end up paving the path for something better. The point of this article is to help you articulate that even if a project did not turn out as expected, there is always something to learn from the situation.
I’ve discussed how to answer “What are your biggest weaknesses?” in a job interview, but I wanted to talk about how to discuss a failed project, be it on your resume, on your LinkedIn profile, or in an interview.
What did you learn?
You might be surprised that I’m talking about highlighting a failed project on your resume, but believe it or not, a failed project or a project that didn’t turn out how you wanted may be very beneficial to discuss. We’re all human, and at some point or another everyone has made a mistake. More often than not, how you deal with the fallout and how you handle the mistake is what leaves a lasting impression; not the failed project itself. If you were the lead on a big project, it would be silly not to highlight this on your resume. Leading a project takes a lot of effort, collaboration, and management. Whether or not the project turned out as planned, these are still important skills to note.
When you discuss a failed project, one of the most important things to share is what you learned from it or what you did to change the outcome going forward. For example, if a launch project didn’t generate the excitement that you hoped, share what you learned about consumer behavior, what you noticed worked and what didn’t work, and how you strategized to generate a bigger impact going forward.
Did you have to do damage control?
Showing how you cleaned up the fallout or did damage control can be a highly effective way to show your adaptability and problem resolution skills. If you had to contact clients, if you had to mediate any communications or clarify messaging, this is the place to highlight that. If you are effective at controlling or mitigating any potential escalations, that’s a huge asset, and something that many companies look for in leaders. Highlight these skills on your resume, or create a SOAR story to use as an example in an interview.
How will this affect your behavior or strategies going forward?
Discussing what you learned is important, but the next step that highlights your value and ability to think and plan strategically is how you will use this to change your plan of action going forward. What will you change? What will you eliminate? What will you add? Showing what you will do to eliminate the risk of this happening again shows that you not only take accountability for your actions, but that you put strategies in place to counteract and proactively decrease the likelihood of a repeat occurrence.
This is also the time to discuss if you collaborated with c suite, management, external partners, or anyone else to strategize the next steps. This will help highlight your ability to work with cross functional teams, analyze feedback, and use that information to build more effective project plans.
____
When thinking about how to discuss a failed project, it’s important to highlight how you handled the situation, what you gained from it, and how you will use this information to strategize and improve project plans going forward.