Demonstrate leadership under ambiguity
Overview
This question evaluates leadership, stakeholder communication, ambiguity management, and negotiation competencies for a Data Scientist role, covering problem scoping, assumption documentation, rapid validation, cross-cultural interactions, and data-backed compensation discussions.
Describe a time you faced an open-ended, lightly guided interview or project where the counterpart had a strong accent and offered little direction. How did you clarify the problem, align on measurable success criteria, and avoid spinning on irrelevant questions? What specific questions did you ask, what assumptions did you document, and how did you validate them quickly? Then, discuss a situation where your compensation expectations and the role’s base salary were misaligned. How did you prepare a data-backed range, handle anchoring, and negotiate trade-offs (e.g., sign-on, equity, leveling) while maintaining trust? Include concrete outcomes and metrics for both scenarios.