Why interviewers ask this question
This question tests genuine team-first accountability: whether you will step up to fix a problem and support a resolution even when it is not technically your fault, rather than focusing energy on assigning blame. Interviewers want reassurance that you will prioritise the team's or customer's outcome over protecting yourself when something goes wrong, since blame-focused teams tend to be slower to actually fix problems.
How to structure your answer using STAR
Choose a real example where a mistake genuinely was not yours, but you chose to help resolve it rather than distancing yourself from it or pointing out whose fault it was. Briefly explain the situation and the mistake, then focus the action on what you specifically did to help fix it, support the person responsible constructively, and prevent it from recurring, without dwelling on assigning blame. Close with a clear result.
A strong example answer
"A colleague sent an incorrect price list to a client due to using an outdated file, which was entirely their error, not mine. Rather than pointing that out to our manager or the client, I focused on jointly drafting a clear, prompt correction email with the right figures and helped the colleague update the shared file storage so an outdated version could not be picked up again. The client appreciated the fast, calm correction, and the process fix meant the same mistake did not happen again for either of us."
Mistakes to avoid
Avoid an answer that spends most of its time explaining whose fault the mistake was, since this undermines the entire point of the question. Avoid implying you were secretly resentful about fixing someone else's error; the strongest answers show genuine team-first motivation, not grudging compliance.