How to Answer: “How do you respond to criticism or negative feedback?”
A complete guide to answering this common interview question — including what interviewers are really looking for, practical tips, and a worked example answer.
What interviewers are really asking
Show that you receive feedback as information, not as an attack. Demonstrate that you can separate your ego from your work, that you act on valid feedback, and that you can constructively push back on feedback you disagree with. Give a real example.
Tips
- Show you separate the feedback from your ego.
- Demonstrate you act on feedback — not just receive it.
- Show you can distinguish valid feedback from unfair criticism.
- Give a real example of feedback that changed your behaviour.
- Avoid claiming all feedback makes you better — show nuance.
Example answer
Sample response
“My default is to assume the feedback has something useful in it, even if the delivery was imperfect. When my manager told me my presentations were losing the room, my first instinct was defensive — I thought the content was strong. But I asked three colleagues for honest input and they confirmed I was going too deep too fast. I restructured my approach: lead with the recommendation, then the evidence. My next board presentation got the fastest sign-off I'd ever had. The feedback was right and I was wrong to be defensive.”
Adapt this to your own experience — never use any example answer verbatim.
Use the STAR method
Structure your answer as: Situation (brief context), Task (your specific responsibility), Action (what you personally did), Result (the quantified outcome). Most strong interview answers follow this pattern.
Full STAR method guide