Prepping for a tough execution interview loop and hearing mixed advice. Some say ‘don’t criticize past teams,’ others warn against humblebragging. What are the actual landmines? Please share real examples of where candidates faceplanted—bonus points for how to recover mid-interview if you step on one.
classic faceplant: badmouthing your last boss. ‘my ceo was an idiot’ = ‘i’ll hate your ceo too.’ better to say ‘we had differing priorities’ while subtly implying you carried the team. recovery? ‘I’ve since learned to align expectations earlier’ (aka blame them politely).
i mentioned a project that failed bc of me…panicked and said ‘but i learned!!’ interviewer asked ‘what exactly?’ 
now i prep 3 ‘safe’ failures. lesson: have backup stories!
Trap 1: Over-indexing on personal heroics. Instead, frame wins as team efforts. Trap 2: Vagueness in metrics. Always prep 2-3 quantified outcomes per story. If you blank, say: ‘Let me contextualize that—our baseline was X, and we achieved Y through Z adjustments.’
Learning from missteps is powerful! You’ve got this 
Friend told a story where they ‘saved’ a project—later realized the interviewer managed that project’s failure! Awkward! Now I research interviewers’ past roles 
Post-mortem data shows 61% of failed execution interviews involve unclear problem framing. Use the first 20 seconds to define scope: ‘This was fundamentally a prioritization issue’ or ‘We faced a stakeholder alignment challenge.’ Reduces miscommunication risk by 48%.