Behavioral question
Tell me about a time when you used data to influence/persuade people.
Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.
Start a mock interview on this question · Mock interview from a job description
What this question tests
Whether the candidate can drive a decision with evidence rather than opinion, and navigate pushback with data.
How to approach it
- Set the situation, name the decision being contested and who disagreed, in one sentence.
- State the task, what outcome needed deciding and by when.
- Describe the action, what data was pulled and how it was presented to the skeptical audience.
- Describe the specific pushback received and how it was addressed with further evidence, not just repetition.
- State the result, the decision made and a measurable outcome that followed.
What a strong answer includes
- Names a real disagreement, for example an engineering lead wanting to delay a launch, and the specific data used to change the outcome.
- Shows how pushback was handled, running a smaller test to prove the data before the full rollout, not just presenting once.
- Quantifies the result, the decision shipped and the metric moved by a stated amount.
Common mistakes
- Vague story with no specific data or numbers mentioned.
- No real disagreement or pushback, making the story sound too easy.
- Missing a measurable result at the end.
Likely follow-up questions
- What would you have done if the data still had not convinced them?
- How did you make sure the data itself was trustworthy?
More behavioral questions
- How do you prioritize requirements?PayPal · Behavioral · Easy
- Tell me about a time you had conflict with a team member or a manager.PayPal · Behavioral · Easy
- Your Engineering Manager wants to work on a new feature and you absolutely have no bandwidth. How will you handle it?PayPal · Behavioral · Medium
- Tell me a time when you influenced engineering to build a particular feature.PayPal · Behavioral · Easy
- You are a PM and you are about to enter the product launch meeting with all stakeholders. How would you prepare for that meeting?PayPal · Behavioral · Easy
- As a PM, who is your most favorite team to work with and why?PayPal · Behavioral · Easy
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 13: Lead the room: staff moves, forward-deployed PM, and the portfolio
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop