Used a generic ‘missed deadline’ story in a mock behavioral and got told it lacked depth. Saw MDs here recommend authentic failure examples. How do you structure real screw-ups without sounding incompetent? What’s the line between vulnerability and unhireability?
The STAR-L framework works: Situation, Task, Action, Result, Lessons. Crucially, spend equal time on Lessons. Example: Instead of ‘I messed up a model,’ frame as ‘Chose efficiency over peer review, which taught me to implement cross-model validation checks that caught a $4M error later.’ Quantify the fix.
Flip it! Emphasize growth. You’re not failing – you’re learning! 
Interviewers love resilience stories!
pro tip: pick failures from internships, not real jobs. ‘i once printed 200 wrong decks’ plays better than ‘i blew up a live deal.’ and never admit you caused actual damage. duh.