Tell me about a time when you had an idea you proposed was not agreed on.

In this question, the interviewer is looking to understand how you handle disagreements, especially in situations where your ideas or suggestions are not received positively. They want to assess your resilience, communication skills, and your ability to cope with rejection. Importantly, this question aims to determine whether you can remain positive, learn from the experience, and move forward.

When answering this, you may want to outline:

• The context of the situation and what the idea was.
• How you presented the idea and the response you received.
• The reasons provided why the idea was not accepted.
• How you responded, what you did next, and what you learned from the situation.

During my tenure with XYZ Ltd., I identified a potential cost-saving process change. I prepared a detailed proposal and presented it to the management team. While I'd anticipated a positive response, they were concerned about the risks associated with such massive changes, and hence, decided not to proceed.

Although disappointed, I handled it professionally, acknowledging their different perspective and taking time to understand their reasoning. This also clad me with a valuable lesson to perhaps, further detail down the risks involved and mitigation measures in the proposal for future times. Even though the idea was not implemented, my commitment to the organization's improvement was appreciated.

As a product coordinator at Company ABC, I suggested an enhancement for one of our key products, hoping it would increase its appeal to our younger audience. I proposed my idea during a team meeting, providing ample market research to back it up. Despite my thorough presentation, the team was not convinced, they believed that the changes could potentially alienate our current audience segment.

I understood their concerns and didn't let this setback deter me. Instead, I used it as an opportunity to learn more about product development and audience segmentation. I realized that it's important to balance innovation with the preferences of our existing customer base. This was a crucial lesson for me and has improved my subsequent recommendations.