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What You Do When Two People Disagree: Approach and a Real Example

GoogleSoftware Engineer · Onsite
MediumSoftware EngineerOnsiteBehavioral & Leadership

Last updated

A behavioral interview question asking what you do when two people disagree, backed by a concrete example from your work. It tests how you understand both sides, move a disagreement toward evidence and shared criteria, decide or escalate when needed, and keep the working relationship intact.

In a behavioral interview for a software engineer role at Google, you are asked: what do you do when two people disagree? Describe your approach and support it with a concrete example from your own experience.

Clarifying Questions

  • Are the two people me and a colleague, or two other people whose disagreement I need to help resolve?
  • Is this about a technical disagreement, such as a design choice, or about priorities and ways of working?
  • Should I describe a general approach, a specific example, or both?

Hints

Hint 1

Find the real crux: Before deciding how to resolve it, work out what each side is optimizing for and what evidence would change each person's mind.

Hint 2

When agreement does not come: Plan for the case where the two never converge: who decides, how the decision is made, and what happens once it goes against one side.

Follow-up questions

  • Tell me about a time you were the one who turned out to be wrong in a disagreement.
  • What if the other person is more senior than you and will not engage with your data?
  • When do you escalate, and how do you do it without damaging the relationship?
  • How did your working relationship with that person develop afterward?