Today I’m writing about something I noticed while doing interviews recently.

If I disagree with a decision a company made, I need to jump into that with both feet. There is sometimes an instinct to say “I suppose I can live with that” or “I don’t know enough about why this choice was made to complain about it”. But the goal is not to complain or to highlight their ignorance or to have an argument.

Disagreeing starts a discussion. This creates an opportunity to do 2 things.

First, it allows me to show case what I know. The fact I have an opinion shows I have worked on this problem before and over the course of the discussion I will be able to demonstrate I understand the pros and cons of the different options and have expertise there.

Second, I will come to understand why the company got into the position they are in. Usually there is a good reason. If it was made through ignorance I will find out if are they open to fixing the problem – subject to priorities of course. I may also learn if they are interested in my opinion or are looking for a soldier who follows orders.