Tell me about a time you had to push back on a request you thought was wrong

Why interviewers ask this

Companies want engineers who protect the product and the codebase from bad decisions made under pressure, not people who silently execute anything they're asked to build.

What a strong answer covers

• Who made the request and what made you think it was wrong — technically unsound, against user interests, or just short-sighted
• How you raised the concern — the tone matters here more than almost any other behavioral question, since pushing back badly can read as insubordinate
• What alternative you proposed, if any — pure pushback without an alternative is a weaker answer
• The actual outcome, including if you ended up implementing the original request anyway after making your case

Common pitfalls

• A story where you simply refused without offering an alternative or escalation path
• No acknowledgment of why the requester thought it was a good idea in the first place