Interview Question: Tell me about a time you had to give difficult feedback to a colleague.
The ability to give constructive feedback is a hallmark of senior engineers. Interviewers want to see you can have difficult conversations in a way that helps people grow rather than damaging relationships.
What Interviewers Are Looking For
- Courage: Can you have uncomfortable conversations?
- Empathy: Do you deliver feedback with care?
- Specificity: Is your feedback actionable?
- Growth Focus: Is your goal to help them improve?
STAR Framework
S - Situation
What behavior or issue needed to be addressed?
A - Action
- Choose private setting and right timing
- Focus on specific behaviors, not personality
- Use "I observed" not "You always"
- Offer support and follow-up
R - Result
Improvement in behavior and maintained/strengthened relationship.
✓ Strong Answer
"A teammate's code reviews were so harsh that junior engineers were afraid to submit PRs. I asked if we could grab coffee. I said, 'I've noticed your reviews are very thorough, but the tone sometimes discourages people. Can we work on making them more constructive?' They hadn't realized the impact. We role-played some examples, and their reviews became much more supportive while staying rigorous."