If someone asks me to “design twitter” or about a time I disagreed with my coworker one more time…
Seriously considering the woodworking route.
The number of adults with completely dysfunctional conflict-resolution skills is actually mind boggling.
I was recently asked this question, and while I've had some disagreements with coworkers over minor things, I've never had a major disagreement that was noteworthy, so I (to my inevitable detriment) said: "Nothing really comes to mind at the moment but if something like that were to happen, I'd do X, Y, and Z". Given the reaction from the interviewer I doubt I passed. I still have 2 more interviews with this company.
If you don't disagree with your coworkers on some part their technical decisions on a regular basis, then you probably don't review their code
> some disagreements with coworkers over minor things
Handling minor everyday disagreements gracefully is a valuable soft skill
Ah the classic "it's not wrong if everyone's doing it" argument. But to me the op wasn't complaining about the content of the question, just the banality of answering it over and over.
Yes, mediocre people like to select the same.
> Handling minor everyday disagreements
is a skill that does not need to be "prepared for" in an interview. And naturally the mediocrities that think asking the standard question and getting the standard answer back are also in for a surprise.
It's surprising how many candidates will say batshit crazy things not realizing they're bat shit crazy.
It's like fizzbuzz at this point, just cuts out a surprisingly large chunk of the cruft out.
I agree you'd think this is the dumbest question, and most people will make up something minor, but it does weed people out.
When it comes to disagreements not being noteworthy, it could also be that you've internalized "disagree and commit." That's not a failing; that's just moving the fuck on and not dwelling on past decisions, unless they actually bear revisiting.
They don't want to hear actual stories - in real life some people are just unreasonable assholes, and the conflict you have cannot be resolved in some MBA style procedure.
What these questions do is push you into being somewhat sociopathic and twisting the truth to tell them what they want to hear.
You'll end up hiring people that are excellent liars that can "navigate social situations".
I had three coding interviews, and they all involved very practical, challenging problems that I hadn't ever seen before. The system design ones was a good back and forth, it didn't feel confrontational or textobok.
I highly recommend people looking for a job to at least give it a shot there.