These Mistakes Turned into Miracles
Almost everyone has been asked at least in one interview, if not more, any of the following questions:
- Tell Me About When You Made a Mistake
- What Is A Mistake You Have Made
- How Do You View/Handle Mistakes
- And other variations thereof…
Most people don’t have enough content in mind when it comes to these situations. This post offers you information that can be useful in an interview.
Did you know there are common products you are highly familiar with, that came about by mistake? These are products that came about in trying to invent something completely different.
This information may sound trivial, but it can be useful during job interviews when you are asked to talk about mistakes you have made a work.
The Slinky
While working on a tension spring, Richard James accidently let one slip off the table. When it hit the ground, it kept on going. This gave him the idea to make it into a product. The product was developed in the 1940’s but is still available today. James’ wife sold the product in 1998.
Post-It Notes
3M was looking for a strong adhesive and set the research and development department to come up with it. They instead made a very weak adhesive, and one of the developers saw that it would stick to a surface but wouldn’t stay stuck. This gave them the idea to attach it to paper for notes. Hence, the Post-It note was born.
Velcro
In the 1940’s, a man and his dog were in the woods hunting. Burrs stuck to his pants and the fur of his dog. This motivated him to studied how these burrs worked under a microscope. He then developed it into a product we all know as Velcro. It is still a viable product to this day.
Silly Putty
The United States government needed rubber during World War II, and it was in short supply. General Electric engineers tried to come up with a rubber substitute and instead came up with goo, which they felt they had no need for. An inspiring business person paid them for the rights to the invention and named it Silly Putty. Plastic egg packaging was used since the release of the product was near Easter time.
Viagra
This product was meant to help people with heart conditions. Instead, they observed in clinical studies that men who took the pill became aroused. As you can well imagine, this product didn’t take much to market and became a success practically overnight.
Play-Doh
Play-Doh got its start as a cleaning product for wallpaper. When it didn’t do as well for that purpose, the inventors knew a teacher who complained about the clay her students were using in class. It was not pliable. The inventors suggested she try the Play-Doh, and the kids went crazy for it. An entire industry has been built around this product since then.
If you have been beating yourself up over making mistakes, perhaps it’s time to cut yourself a break. Who knows, you may even discover the next multimillion-dollar product in the process.
About the Author
Mandy Fard is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, CMRW) and Recruiter with decades of experience in assisting job seekers, working directly with employers in multiple industries, and writing proven-effective resumes.
Feel free to connect with Mandy Fard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyfard/
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