CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT A TIME WHEN YOU DISAGREED WITH YOUR BOSS? I don't often disagree with
my boss. I've been fortunate to have lots of managers and supervisors who are really
good at their jobs. However, if I do think something is not right, I will challenge it
in a confident but respectful and professional manner. To give you an example, I can remember
in a previous role we were discussing as a team how to launch a new company product.
My manager was adamant that he wanted to use local advertising media, i.e. newspapers and
magazines to promote the product. I disagreed with this and I said to my manager in a professional
way, I said, I feel there is a better way of doing this. And I explained the reasons
why. I said that if we use the combination of Facebook adverts and Google adverts online,
we could target the people who were searching for that particular product. He then gave
me the task to go away and provide more evidence of how that might work, which was great. I
then came back in a couple of hours and I gave him evidence of the keywords that we
could use to search for our product, and he agreed with me that it might be a better way
to launch this new company product. So, what he did, he decided to split the budget 50:50.
Fifty percent using local newspaper and magazine advertising, and fifty percent on Google and
Facebook adverts. As it so happened, two weeks into the product launch, the online adverts
were working really well, and he decided to shift all of the advertising over to the online
method. So, as I said at the start, I don't tend to disagree too often, but if I feel
the company can benefit from a different way of working, I won't be afraid to say so. Now,
that was a BRILLIANT ANSWER to the difficult interview question, tell me about a time when
you disagreed with your boss. Now, before I give you the exact script to use when answering
this really tough interview question, here are three really important tips. TIP NUMBER
ONE: Whenever you answer the question, tell me about a time when you disagreed with your
boss, don't say, “Oh, I've never disagreed with my boss.” That is not the answer they
are looking for. It is important to give a SPECIFIC SITUATION you have been in where
you had a disagreement with your boss. Now, if you genuinely have never had a disagreement
with your boss, stick around, because I will tell you exactly what to say. TIP NUMBER TWO:
Make sure you give a specific situation where you actually disagreed with your boss, but
you did it by being courteous, respectful and professional… that's very, very important!
And TIP NUMBER THREE: Whenever you disagree with your boss, it is important that you back
up your viewpoint or opinion with facts or evidence, and I will explain exactly how to
do that right now. So, here are three great example answers to that really difficult interview
question: Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. Here's the first sample answer,
and this is the one that I used at the start of the video. Here we go. “I was in a team
meeting discussing the options for marketing a new product the company was about to launch.
My manager stated he wanted us to use local advertising media to promote the product,
and in particular, newspaper and magazine advertisements. I didn’t agree that this
was a good way to get the most traction from the product launch, and so I set about explaining
why. I explained to my manager that most people now used the internet to search for products
and services, and that we would be better placed spending our money online using targeted
Facebook and Google Pay Per Click adverts. That way, we could really target the people
we wanted to sell our new product to. My manager agreed this was potentially a good idea, and
so he gave me the task of looking into it more deeply and to produce a plan of action
moving forward. After I had created the plan and presented it to my manager, we went ahead
with a full online advertising campaign which proved to be very successful.” That's a
really strong answer to that difficult interview question: tell me about a time when you disagreed
with your boss, because you are not just disagreeing, but you are explaining why, and you are then
offering an alternative solution. Let's now take a look at the second sample answer to
that question: Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss. And in a second,
I will then give you the answer to use if you have been in the position where you've
never disagreed with your boss. Here's the second example answer. “One day a customer
contacted the company to make a complaint about a faulty product they had received.
The customer was unhappy, and they were asking for a full refund and a replacement product.
My manager told me to inform the customer that we would not refund the order, but instead
we would simply provide a replacement. However, having spoken to the customer in detail, they
stated they were considering leaving a negative review online about their experience with
our company. I said to my manager that I felt in this instance, it would be more beneficial
to the business to refund and replace the order due to the minimal costs involved. I
went on to explain that there was danger we could end up losing more money due to the
negative review if we did not meet the customer’s demands. The situation was not the customers
fault and it would be a good idea to try and keep hold of their business moving forward.
After careful consideration, my manager agreed this was the best course of action and I called
the customer back to explain that we would agree to their request.” So that's a great
answer! Another answer that demonstrates you are not afraid to disagree with your boss.
You are explaining why, and you are then giving them an alternative solution. Now, I still
have one more SAMPLE ANSWER to give you to this difficult interview question, tell me
about the time when you disagreed with your boss, but what if you've never actually had
a disagreement with a boss? Here's what I would say in that situation. “I’ve not
yet had a disagreement with a boss; however, if I didn’t agree with something he or she
said, then I would certainly not hesitate in saying something. If I were to disagree,
I would be polite, courteous and professional, and I would explain the reason for my disagreement,
and I would back up my point of view with facts or evidence. If I ever do end up disagreeing
with my boss, it will be because I think something can be done in a better manner that benefits
the company.” That's the best way to answer that question if you've never been in a situation
where you had a disagreement with your boss. Let's now take a look at answer option three
to the difficult interview question: Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your
boss. Here we go. “In a previous role, my boss informed me that he wanted to change
suppliers for a cheaper company he had found online. After he had given me the name of
the supplier, I conducted some research, and I noticed a few potential issues that could
cause us problems later down the line. The company had only been trading for two months
and already there were a couple of negative reviews about them online. I decided to spend
a little bit of time myself looking for alternative companies that were cheaper and that were
perhaps better placed to supply us long term. After I had found an alternative supplier,
I went in to see my boss and I explained my concerns about the supplier he had found before
giving him the details of the alternative I had sourced. He agreed with me that it would
be best to use a different supplier and we ended up ordering from the one I had sourced
that had a better trading history and reputation.” That's another cracking answer! So, you've
got 3 ANSWER OPTIONS there to choose from. Now, the next thing to do, please make sure
you watch this mock interview on YouTube. CLICK THAT LINK right now at the top of this
video and head over to that mock interview right here on YouTube. I go through a LIVE
FULL INTERVIEW for you to teach you how to answer the interview questions. You'll see
that I demonstrate really good interview technique, I engage positively with the panel, and I
end up getting the job! If you have an interview coming up, I strongly recommend you watch
that interview questions and answers mock interview video right here on YouTube, because
it will make a big difference to your preparation! I hope you enjoyed that. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE
to the channel. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to. I have put
my LinkedIn.com link in the description below the video. And please do give the video a
LIKE if you've enjoyed the content… that motivates me to create more for you. Thank
you for watching and genuinely wish you all the best for passing your interview. Have
a brilliant day.