WHEN YOU MAKE A MISTAKE ON THE JOB

By Emerson Taylor

Forgetting a deadline, sending out incorrect information, misspelling your boss’s name. If you’ve started your first "real" job, you’re probably hoping these sorts of mistakes won’t happen to you. Here are tips on how to turn goof-ups into great opportunities.

  1. Prevent Mistakes. Make sure an appropriate line-up of checks and verifications are in place to prevent mistakes from happening. Look at you job and note vulnerable areas. Set up procedures to catch missteps before they happen.
     
  2. Don’t Say, "Its Not My Fault". Likewise, don’t blame others, make excuses, or plead ignorance. None of these responses make a good impression, and you waste valuable energy and draw more attention to the mistake at the same time.
     
  3. Don’t Tell the World Immediately. First, determine exactly what went wrong. Get facts and learn what harm the mistake caused. Second, come up with ideas that solve the problem.
     
  4. Fess Up. Admit your mistake, starting out with your intended solution. Acknowledge and damage the mistake may have caused. Communicate your disappointment in your performance so that other realized you are adequately concerned about the mistake. Use the words, "I made a mistake."
     
  5. Max Your Effort to Solve the Problem. Use all of your resources to create the best possible solution in the shortest amount of time. Show your personal commitment to excellence. Maintain a positive attitude. This is your opportunity to impress management.
     
  6. Revise Your Checks and Verifications. Update the procedures that allowed the mistakes to happen. This shows management that you are trying to be very careful about preventing additional mistakes. Make sure everyone involved in the mistake understands the new procedures. Be positive to everyone involved.
     
  7. Communicate to Management. Communicate verbally and in writing to management the corrections you’ve made to procedures. Include a copy of the revised procedures. Make sure your manager approves the revised procedures before you distribute them. Your goal should be to show management how much effort you have made to correct the problem.