Interviewer: When was a time that you disagreed with your manager?
Abby: My last manager and I worked closely together on many projects, so there were quite a few times that we disagreed. One time, we were designing a new logo, slogan, and advertisement material for a rising clothing company. We had disagreements about many things on this project.
Interviewer: So, what did you do in that situation?
Abby: I prepared a document and a presentation that outlined what I thought we should do. Then, I showed the document and gave the presentation to my manager in order to persuade her.
Interviewer: Did it work?
Abby: It worked for some things. After reading my report and hearing my presentation, my manager and I discussed the points in detail. For some things, she changed her mind and decided to do what I suggested but for other things, she disagreed with my opinion. But I think that we did a great job on that project because we worked well together and shared our ideas openly.
Interviewer: That’s great to hear. We like it when our employees can cooperate and work well with each other.
Patterns and Examples
I disagreed with my previous manager one time because ____________________. I ____________________.
- I disagreed with my previous manager one time because she wanted to terminate our project, but I wanted to continue with the project. I prepared evidence, data, and materials showing why I thought this project would be successful, and I ended up changing her mind. And by the way, the project was successful.
- I disagreed with my previous manager one time because she often ignored our existing customers. I tried to make up for this by giving extra care and attention to our customers.
One time, my manager wanted to ____________________, but I thought we should ____________________. I ____________________.
- One time, my manager wanted to cut costs by switching to a different supplier, but I thought we should stay with our current supplier because the quality was better. I tried my best to persuade her, but she did not listen to me.
- One time, my manager wanted to fire an employee, but I thought we should keep that employee and help them learn because I thought that employee had potential. I convinced my manager to let me mentor the employee.
My previous manager and I disagreed about ____________________. We ____________________.
- My previous manager and I disagreed about the best way to increase sales. We discussed the issue a great deal, and we came up with a solution together.
- My previous manager and I disagreed about what features to add to our app. We debated each of our ideas, and in the end, we selected one of my ideas and one of my manager’s ideas.
