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I got asked once about a time I disagreed with my manager. I talked about a time we differed on how to approach a problem, I made my case, but they asserted to

I got asked once about a time I disagreed with my manager. I talked about a time we differed on how to approach a problem, I made my case, but they asserted to do it their way. Since they were my manager, I did, and it worked well enough. This did not play well during an interview. But idk, am I supposed to pretend I persuaded my boss to my side? Sometimes you gotta do what your boss asks even if you're not super jazzed about it.

malfist 4y ago
If it was an amazon interview that would have went over well. Disagree and commit is explicitly about being able to stand up to your team/manager and voice your opinion about how to do something correct, but if the team/manager overrules you, you commit the the vision the manager or team is building. Granted, it's hard to very any of that is true in an interview. 90% of people will disagree, then allow themselves to be overruled and then every chance they get rehash the arguments they lost anytime something tangential to it comes up. That's easy to hide in an interview.
- wollsmoth 4y ago
  It's been a while but I think it was actually a Spotify interview. Was sad to not get in but I guess in retrospect it was for the best. I whiffed the Amazon interview more on pure algo problems iirc. It's been a while and I just haven't tried again.
  - malfist 4y ago
    Interviewing is such a crapshoot of luck. You can prep all you want, but if you get a grumpy interviewer or a challenge out of your wheelhouse things can go south and there's no way to show you're better. Wish there was a better way.
Beltalowda 4y ago
There was a time I ended up convincing my manager and things went my way. There was a time my manager ended up convincing me and we did things their way. There was a time we just couldn't agree and I ended up doing things their way because "they're the boss". There was a time we ended up putting it to a sort of "vote" for the entire team. There was a time we made a compromise we could both live with. There was a time another team member jumped in with an even better solution that either of us thought of. There was a time I ended up quitting my job because we didn't agree and he was a gigantic dick about it for no reason. --- All these things actually happened over my career, and no single one accurately describes how I'd deal with a situation where I disagree with my manager. I'd generally answer it like that, although I'd leave that last one out for obvious reasons (there was also a lot of build-up/context to that one that would take ages to explain, and is hard to explain in the first place).

malfist 4y ago

If it was an amazon interview that would have went over well. Disagree and commit is explicitly about being able to stand up to your team/manager and voice your opinion about how to do something correct, but if the team/manager overrules you, you commit the the vision the manager or team is building. Granted, it's hard to very any of that is true in an interview. 90% of people will disagree, then allow themselves to be overruled and then every chance they get rehash the arguments they lost anytime something tangential to it comes up. That's easy to hide in an interview.

wollsmoth 4y ago
It's been a while but I think it was actually a Spotify interview. Was sad to not get in but I guess in retrospect it was for the best. I whiffed the Amazon interview more on pure algo problems iirc. It's been a while and I just haven't tried again.
- malfist 4y ago
  Interviewing is such a crapshoot of luck. You can prep all you want, but if you get a grumpy interviewer or a challenge out of your wheelhouse things can go south and there's no way to show you're better. Wish there was a better way.

Beltalowda 4y ago

There was a time I ended up convincing my manager and things went my way. There was a time my manager ended up convincing me and we did things their way. There was a time we just couldn't agree and I ended up doing things their way because "they're the boss". There was a time we ended up putting it to a sort of "vote" for the entire team. There was a time we made a compromise we could both live with. There was a time another team member jumped in with an even better solution that either of us thought of. There was a time I ended up quitting my job because we didn't agree and he was a gigantic dick about it for no reason. --- All these things actually happened over my career, and no single one accurately describes how I'd deal with a situation where I disagree with my manager. I'd generally answer it like that, although I'd leave that last one out for obvious reasons (there was also a lot of build-up/context to that one that would take ages to explain, and is hard to explain in the first place).