sayitsayit
Software Engineer interview

Tell me about a time you disagreed with feedback on a code review.

A strong answer here gives one real, specific example — not a list of qualities — and delivers it at a pace an interviewer can actually follow. Try answering out loud first, in the recorder to the right, then compare.
  • ~90s answer
  • 30s to prepare
  • Free
A strong answer

What a strong answer does

Structure

How it's built

  1. 1State your initial, reasoned disagreement — don't pretend you simply agreed.
  2. 2Describe moving the conversation from comments to a real discussion.
  3. 3Land on an outcome better than either starting position, if that's honestly what happened.

Delivery

Keep tone collegial throughout, even describing the disagreement — code review stories read worse with any defensiveness in the voice.

Delivery

Slow slightly for the technical detail ("shared state") so a non-engineer interviewer can still follow the shape of it.
Vocabulary

Words worth practising

refactor

restructuring code without changing what it does — say it if that's exactly what you mean, not as a synonym for "fix."

codebase

one word, no pause in the middle — treat it like "database," which it's built the same way as.

thorough

rhymes with "furrow," not "through" — one of the most commonly mispronounced words in this list.

constructive

the word that separates useful criticism from just criticism — use it when describing feedback you gave, not just received.

collaborate

more precise than "work with" when a team, not just one person, shared the outcome.

confident

the stress sits on the first syllable — CON-fi-dent, not con-fi-DENT — say it the way you want to sound.

Sounds to watch

Pay extra attention to these

Sounds this answer leans on
vwschwa
Questions

Straight answers

How long should my answer be?

Aim for about 90 seconds, spoken naturally — long enough to give a real example, short enough that you don't lose the interviewer's attention. sayit's timer here is set to exactly that.

Do I have to follow the model answer word for word?

No — it's one strong way to answer, not a script to memorise. Borrow the structure and a few phrases if they help, but answer with your own real example; a memorised answer usually sounds memorised.

What does sayit actually check when I record my answer?

Your pace, pauses, filler words, and how closely each sound you produced matches its target — not whether your answer's content or structure was strong. Use the notes on this page for that part.

Try it now

Ready to answer it out loud?

Free, no card. Pace, filler words, pauses, and the exact sounds to fix — the same depth a paying member sees.

Start practising freeMore questions