Talk about a time when you disagreed with a coworker. How did you handle that situation and what was the outcome?
With this question, your interviewer is ultimately looking to gauge your interpersonal negotiation skills. At Doordash, you will be working closely with others while perfecting their service to customers, and disagreements will happen. Your interviewer would like to know that you are capable of standing your ground while doing so tactfully and respectfully. They would also like to hear that you can leverage facts and data to persuade your colleagues to see your side of the argument. Explain the situation or task you were faced with, followed by the action you took or the recommendation you made, and the result of your objection.
"Early in my career, I worked closely with a very experienced colleague who was very stuck in his way of doing things. Despite the introduction of new industry standards, he was very quick to dismiss the new way of doing things. I sat down with him and had a heart-to-heart conversation where I presented all of the data that was driving the decision for our work changes. My approach was to deliver my message while also listening to his concerns. When he brought up valid concerns, I listened attentively and eased his resistance by highlighting some of the critical impacts that the new methods would bring. In the end, he left our conversation in a much better mood and even ended up thanking me for the time I took later on in the week."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
When I joined XXXXXXX, the managers spoke really high on my abilities and my extensive experience. One of my new peers that had just been promoted to supervisor, did not care for me before she even had the chance to meet me. While brainstorming with the management team she would oppose every idea and recommendation that I had because it wasn't the company's traditional way of handling things. I asked to speak with her privately for a better understanding of her feelings towards me. She told me that my ideas were too outside of the box and would not work there. I asked that she allow me the chance to show her how we can meet the same goal with different strategies. I agreed to start the process her way, but if lost momentum at any point we would try my way. It started off great, I tweaked her strategy twice and we both agreed that the process was successful from both inputs. From there we agreed to respectfully agree to disagree but to continue to be open about working together so that we can meet business goals in the most efficient ways.
Stephanie's Feedback
This sounds like a pretty challenging situation, and it's clear that you used strong interpersonal skills to guide your actions. That's great that you've figured out a way to effectively communicate with this individual!
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