Describe a time you needed to get buy-in from stakeholders who were initially skeptical or resistant to your proposal. How did you understand their concerns, build your case, and bring them around?
The interviewer is looking for: your ability to read and address resistance, whether you persuade through understanding rather than force, your patience and persistence in building consensus, and the outcome of your persuasion effort.
How to approach it
- Hint 1
Choose a situation where the skepticism was legitimate -- the stakeholders had real reasons to doubt your proposal. The best examples involve you genuinely understanding their concerns and adapting your approach rather than just repeating your argument louder.
- Hint 2
Walk through your persuasion strategy: how did you learn what their actual concerns were? What evidence or framing did you use to address those specific concerns? Did you make concessions, run pilots, bring in allies, or find common ground? Show the evolution of the conversation.
- Hint 3
Describe the outcome -- did they come around fully, partially, or not at all? Even partial persuasion or a negotiated compromise can be a strong answer if you show sophistication in your approach. Reflect on what you learned about persuasion and stakeholder management.
Ready to answer it out loud?
Record your answer in 1:30 and Preptile scores it 1–10 with specifics — what landed, what you skipped, and what to say next time.
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