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Learning from failure

Learning from failure is the ability to reflect honestly when things don’t go as planned, understand what went wrong and use that insight to improve next time. It involves staying calm, managing your emotions and being willing to try again without giving up.

Where can I find this in the skills language?

Creation > Creative output or approach

Creation > Design output or approach

Cognition > Argue and interpret > Reflect on arguments and interpretations

Why does this skill matter?

Learning from failure helps you grow academically, professionally and personally. It builds resilience, adaptability and confidence, so you can take on challenges and recover from setbacks. At university, it allows you to improve through feedback, adjust your approach to assignments and learn from mistakes. In life and work, it helps you respond constructively to obstacles, adapt to new situations and take informed risks.

Where will you use this skill at university and beyond?

… as part of your degree
You practise learning from failure when you receive critical feedback, improve your grades over time, or revise work after a poor assignment result.

… as part of the wider student experience
Taking leadership roles, working on group projects, volunteering, or running events may involve setbacks or things not going as planned.

… as a professional in the future
In the workplace, learning from failure helps you recover from missed deadlines, unsuccessful projects, or mistakes in team initiatives. It allows you to adapt strategies, take responsibility, and demonstrate resilience, making you a trusted and resourceful team member.

Student insight

“Failure is inevitable. I have experienced failure many times, but only now have I realised how not to waste it. I have practised turning my remorse into reflection, giving a failed attempt or outcome not more than a day to think about. It is the learning from this which is more important.”

~ Student from Adam Smith Business School

How can you evidence this skill?

You might be able to evidence this skill through:

• Using feedback to improve assignments, essays, lab work or projects
• Reflecting on mistakes made, especially understanding your learning from these
• Identifying what went wrong and making improvements
• Maintaining a learning log or journal that highlights lessons learned
• Showing how you applied lessons from your own failures to help others avoid similar mistakes

How else might employers describe this skill?

You might also hear this skill described as…

• Resilience
• Growth mindset
• Adaptability
• Self-awareness
• Emotional intelligence
• Thriving
• Accountability

What are some example interview questions that feature this skill?

1. Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn?
2. Describe a situation when things didn’t go as planned? How did you respond?
3. Has a supervisor ever given you critical feedback? How did you act on it?
4. Can you give me an example of a time you adjusted your approach after a setback?

What does a good response look like?

Question

Can you give me an example of a time that you failed? What did you learn?

Response

Situation: I went through a period where my time management was poor, and I missed several schoolwork deadlines.

Task: I recognised that I needed to take responsibility for improving my organisation and ensuring I met deadlines consistently.

Action: I reflected on my approach and identified that I was not planning my workload effectively or prioritising tasks. To address this, I began using a structured weekly schedule to map out deadlines and allocate time for each piece of work. I set reminders to keep myself accountable and broke larger assignments into smaller, manageable stages with interim deadlines. I also built in regular check-ins with myself to review progress and adjust my plan if I was falling behind.

Result: Over time, my punctuality and reliability improved significantly and I was able to meet deadlines consistently. This experience taught me the importance of accountability, proactive planning, and maintaining effective time management habits to support both academic and professional success.