"What Do You Think We Could Do Better?" 8 Sample Answers for 2026 Interviews

"What do you think we could do better or differently?" sits in the same trap family as "what's your greatest weakness?" The question sounds open and friendly. The scoring rubric in the interviewer's head is anything but. Say something too soft and you look unprepared. Say something too sharp and you look like the new hire who'll spend their first quarter telling everyone how they did it at the last place.

This is a 2026 interview standard now, especially at companies where culture, retention, and cross-functional fit get weighed as heavily as raw skill. So it's worth answering it well, and worth understanding why it gets asked in the first place.

Below is the framework, the trap version most candidates miss, what NOT to say, and eight sample answers built for different roles, company sizes, and career stages. By the end you'll know exactly how to handle this one when it lands in your next interview.

Why interviewers ask "what do you think we could do better?"

The surface read is research. Did you bother looking at the company before showing up? But that's barely half the test. The real signals interviewers are scanning for are these:

Tact under pressure. You're being asked to criticize the people across the table. How you do that says a lot about how you'll handle giving feedback to a future manager, a coworker, or a client.

Strategic thinking. Pointing at a typo on the homepage isn't a critique; it's an observation. Pointing at a market gap or a customer behavior the company hasn't responded to yet shows that you can read business signals.

Cultural fit. Your suggestion has to land within the company's stated values. A startup that prides itself on speed doesn't want to hear about adding more approval steps. A regulated bank doesn't want to hear about "moving faster and breaking things." Mismatch here is often a quiet rejection.

Skin in the game. Strong answers reframe the question into "here's what I'd contribute," not "here's what's wrong." That subtle pivot is what separates candidates who get the offer from candidates who get the polite follow-up email.

Variations of this question all test the same thing. You'll hear it phrased as "what could the company do better," "what would you change about our company," "how could we improve if we hired you," or the classic interview question "what would you improve here in your first 90 days?" The substance of your answer should hold up against any of them.

The trap version of this interview question

Some interviewers ask this question in good faith. Others ask it as a stress test, the same way they'd ask "why are manhole covers round?" The trap version has a specific shape, and it's worth recognizing.

The trap is this: the company already knows the obvious problems. Their NPS scores, exit interviews, board decks, and customer support tickets list them in detail. So when they ask you what they could do better, they're not fishing for a fix. They're checking how you handle a question with no safe answer.

Candidates who sense the trap and freeze tend to reach for two failed strategies. The first is flattery, where you basically say "honestly, I can't think of anything, you're great." That reads as either dishonest or unprepared. The second is over-honesty, where you list three things that aren't working, with confidence you don't yet have the right to. That reads as arrogant.

The way through is a third path: name something specific, frame it as an opportunity rather than a flaw, and tie it directly to a skill you bring. The next section is the framework for getting there.

A research framework for finding real answers

Most candidates answer this question off the top of their head. That's why most answers fail. The candidates who nail it spend 30 to 45 minutes on focused research the night before. Here's what to look at, in order of payoff.

Start with the company's own words

Read the most recent investor letter, annual report, or "year in review" blog post. Public companies file 10-Ks on SEC EDGAR; private ones often publish a state-of-the-company post or a CEO LinkedIn essay. These documents tell you what the leadership team itself thinks the priorities are. Pick a priority they've already named, and your suggestion is automatically aligned with company strategy rather than against it.

Read recent customer reviews

G2, Trustpilot, Glassdoor (for the employee angle), Reddit, and product Hacker News threads are gold. Filter for the past 6 to 12 months. You're looking for patterns: a feature customers keep asking about, a workflow they keep complaining about, a competitor they keep comparing it to. One concrete pattern is worth more than ten generic suggestions.

Check what competitors do differently

Competitor research isn't about saying "you should copy them." It's about spotting moves the company hasn't made yet. If three direct competitors all publish weekly research reports and this company doesn't, that's a content marketing gap. If competitors all have a free tier and this company doesn't, that's a pipeline gap. Frame the gap, not the rival.

Talk to someone who works there

If you have a connection inside the company, even a loose one, a 15-minute coffee chat is the highest-leverage research you can do. People will tell you what's actually broken in ways no website ever will. LinkedIn alumni search and warm intros from your network are the routes here.

Map it back to your skills

The last step is the one most candidates skip. After you find the gap, ask: "is this something I'd actually be hired to fix?" If you're applying for a marketing role and the gap is in product engineering, drop it. Find a marketing-shaped gap instead. The closer the fit between the gap you name and the role you're up for, the more compelling the answer.

How to structure your answer to "what do you think we could do better?"

A strong answer follows a four-beat structure. Each beat is one to three sentences, so the whole thing lands in 60 to 90 seconds, which is roughly what interviewers expect.

Beat one: a genuine compliment. Lead with something you've noticed and admire. Specifics beat generics. "Your customer support reputation in the industry is real, I've heard it from three people in my network" hits harder than "you're a great company."

Beat two: the gap, framed as an opportunity. Name the thing you'd improve, but frame it as a place to grow rather than a failure. "One area where I see room to push further is..." is the magic phrase here.

Beat three: a concrete suggestion. What would you actually do? Be specific. Vague answers ("better marketing," "more innovation") suggest you didn't do the work. Specific answers ("a structured customer education series," "weekly engineering blog posts") show you did.

Beat four: tie it to your skills. End by connecting the gap to something you've done before. This pivots the answer from critique to contribution, which is where the offer lives.

Sandwich the criticism, but don't bury it. The interviewer asked a real question; give them a real answer in the middle, then close with how you'd help.

8 sample answers to "what do you think we could do better?"

These are written for different industries, role levels, and company stages. Use them as starting points, not scripts. The interviewer has heard scripts before, and they sound like scripts.

Sample 1: Early-career candidate, SaaS startup

"Honestly, your product team's velocity is one of the reasons I applied; the changelog has shipped something every two weeks for the past year, and that's rare. The one thing I noticed reading through your help center is that the onboarding videos haven't been refreshed since the 2024 redesign, so a few of them show the old UI. For a self-serve product where new users land on those pages, that's a gap. In my last role I rebuilt our knowledge base on a quarterly review cycle, and I'd want to bring that habit here so the docs stay tight as the product moves."

Sample 2: Mid-level marketer, direct-to-consumer brand

"Your brand voice on Instagram is genuinely fun, and the engagement numbers show it's working. The opportunity I'd flag is on email; I subscribed about a month ago and the welcome flow is two messages, both pretty generic. For a brand with this much personality, the inbox is leaving money on the table. I've built segmented welcome flows that lifted first-purchase rates by double digits at my last company, and that's where I'd start in the first 60 days."

Sample 3: Managerial candidate, mid-size tech firm

"From the engineering blog and the recent all-hands clips your team posted, it's obvious culture and craft matter here. The area I'd want to push on is internal mobility; I noticed three open senior roles that look like they could be filled internally, but the promotion paths aren't documented anywhere public. Strong managers I've worked with treat internal mobility as a retention tool, and I've built role frameworks at two previous companies that cut external hiring costs while improving tenure. That's the kind of system I'd want to set up if I joined."

Sample 4: Sales position, B2B software

"I've been a customer of one of your competitors for the past two years, and I went deep on your product before this interview. Your demo experience is sharper, no question. Where I think you've got room is the post-demo follow-up; it took five days to get a tailored quote when I requested one as a buyer test. In SaaS sales, that window is where deals leak. I've run pipelines where 24-hour personalized follow-up was the rule, and it shifted close rates noticeably. That's the muscle I'd bring to the team here."

Sample 5: Teacher or education role

"What stood out to me about this district is how seriously you take family engagement; your monthly newsletter actually gets read, which is rare. One area I'd suggest building on is the use of student-led conferences. Districts I've worked with that switched from teacher-led to student-led parent conferences saw bigger jumps in family attendance, especially in middle school. I've facilitated that shift before, and I'd want to pilot it in my first year if there's appetite."

Sample 6: Finance or accounting role, traditional firm

"Your reputation for audit quality is part of why I applied; I've heard it from two former associates who now work in industry. The opportunity I'd raise is around the close cycle; from your careers blog it sounds like month-end still runs eight to ten business days, and most peer firms have pushed that under five. I led a close acceleration project at my previous firm using a mix of process redesign and Workiva automation, and we cut three days in two quarters. That's the playbook I'd want to bring."

Sample 7: Healthcare role, hospital system

"Patient outcomes data on your cardiology unit is some of the strongest in the region, and that's a reflection of the team. The thing I'd flag is patient education at discharge; I work in the field, and I've seen the readmission risk that comes with rushed discharge instructions. If hired, I'd want to look at whether teach-back protocols are being used consistently across shifts. I've trained nursing teams on teach-back before and seen 30-day readmissions drop measurably."

Sample 8: Creative or design role, agency

"Your case study work is gorgeous; the rebrand you shipped for the wellness client last spring is in my saved folder. One thing I'd build on is how the agency talks about itself between case studies. The blog hasn't published in about five months, and for an agency that competes on thought leadership, that's a quiet gap. I've kept editorial calendars at two previous shops and turned them into a real lead source. That's where I'd want to lean in."

Notice the shape across all eight: a real compliment, a specific gap, a concrete fix, and a personal track record that maps to the role. None of them attack the company, and none of them pretend everything is perfect.

What NOT to say when asked "what could we do better?"

The fastest way to lose ground on this question is one of these moves. They're more common than they should be, and most candidates don't realize they've made one until the rejection email lands.

"Honestly, nothing, you're doing great." This sounds polite. It reads as either lazy research or empty flattery. Hiring managers will move on assuming you didn't prepare.

The savior complex answer. "Where to start? I see five things I'd fix in my first month." Even if you're right, you sound like you'll be exhausting to manage. Confidence is good. Pre-victory laps are not.

The internet outrage take. "Your last quarter results were rough; here's what went wrong." If you're going to reference public bad news, do it once and gently, with a forward-looking idea attached. Don't lead with it.

Bashing a competitor. "Your competitor X is doing this poorly, you should differentiate." The interviewer doesn't want to hear you trash other companies; it makes them wonder what you'll say about them in your next interview.

Going against stated values. If the company's careers page features speed and autonomy, suggesting more committees and approval gates is a values mismatch. Same the other way: don't tell a regulated insurer to ship faster and worry about compliance later. Match the answer to the company's posture.

Pointing at the obvious surface stuff. A typo on the website. The font size in the footer. The fact that the careers page loads slowly. These are not strategic suggestions; they're chores. They make you sound junior even if the role is senior.

Getting personal about leadership. Critiquing the CEO's recent interview, the founder's tweet, or the chief marketing officer's last decision is a fast track to no. You weren't asked to grade the executives; you were asked about the business.

The "I haven't seen enough yet" pivot when you're stuck

Sometimes the question lands and you genuinely don't have a good answer ready. Maybe it's an industry you're newer to. Maybe the company is small enough that public information is thin. Maybe the role is so different from your background that the framework above didn't quite click.

There's a clean way out of that situation, and it's not pretending. It's the "I haven't seen enough yet" pivot. Used right, it actually scores points. Here's the shape of it:

"I'd want to flag that I haven't seen enough of how the team operates day-to-day to suggest something specific without sounding presumptuous. From the outside, what I noticed is [one genuine observation about the company that's positive and shows you did look]. If I joined, the first thing I'd want to do in my first 30 days is [specific listening or learning activity, like shadowing customer calls, reviewing the past two quarters' product analytics, or sitting in on the Monday team standup]. By day 60 I'd expect to have a real point of view I could bring to my manager."

That answer does three things at once. It admits you don't know everything yet, which reads as honest and senior. It shows you've thought about how to learn quickly. And it sets up a 30-60-90 mental model, which good hiring managers love because it sounds like the kind of new hire who shows up ready.

Use this pivot sparingly, though. If you use it for every tough interview question, the interviewer will notice the pattern and start to wonder if you have any opinions at all.

How to tailor the answer by company type and size

The right answer to this question changes based on the kind of company you're talking to. Here's a quick translation guide.

Early-stage startup (under 50 people)

The team is small, the founder is probably in the room, and they're hyper-aware of every flaw because they live with them daily. Don't pile on. Pick something forward-looking, like a market segment they haven't reached or a content motion they haven't started, and tie it to a system you'd build in your first quarter. Avoid suggestions that require headcount they don't have yet.

Growth-stage company (50 to 500 people)

This is the sweet spot for the framework above. There's enough public information to find real gaps, the team has the resources to act on them, and the interviewer is usually empowered enough to actually appreciate the suggestion. Lean on competitor comparison and customer review patterns here.

Large enterprise (1,000+ people)

Big companies are slow to change, and the interviewer often has zero power to act on your suggestion anyway. The smart move here is humility plus departmental specificity. Don't try to fix the whole company. Pick the team you'd be joining, and find a workflow or output gap inside that team's scope. "From your team's recent case studies, I'd love to see more representation from the mid-market segment" lands; "the company should restructure its go-to-market" does not.

Public sector or nonprofit

Budget is the constant constraint, so any suggestion that costs serious money will land flat. Frame your answer around process, communication, or community engagement instead, things that are improvable without a budget request. Reference public-impact metrics where possible.

Common mistakes candidates make on this question

Even prepared candidates trip on a few things. Watch for these.

Talking too long. A great answer is 60 to 90 seconds. Going past two minutes signals you're rambling, and the interviewer's attention drops. Practice saying the answer out loud and time yourself.

Treating it as a quiz. Some candidates bring a memorized list of "three improvements" they've prepared in advance. The result sounds like a school report. Better to have one strong, conversational suggestion than three rehearsed ones.

Forgetting to listen first. If the interviewer mentioned a priority earlier in the conversation (a new market, a recent reorganization, a product launch), your answer should reflect what they told you. Ignoring it makes you look like you weren't paying attention.

Overusing the word "feedback." "I'd love to give you my feedback on a few things" frames you as the evaluator. You're the candidate. Use words like "observation," "opportunity," or "suggestion" instead.

Not practicing it out loud. The shape of this answer reads fine on paper and sounds awkward in your mouth the first time you try it. A mock interview session, even a 20-minute one with a friend, fixes most of the awkwardness before it shows up in the real room.

Frequently asked questions about this interview question

How do you answer "what would you do differently?"

Use the same four-beat structure: a real compliment, a specific gap framed as an opportunity, a concrete idea, and a tie-back to your skills. Lead with a positive observation, name one improvement area, propose a focused suggestion, and finish with a sentence about how you'd contribute.

How to answer "what our company could do better"?

Research first. Spend 30 to 45 minutes on the company's annual report, recent customer reviews, and a competitor or two. Pick a gap that maps to the role you're applying for, and frame it as a growth opportunity, not a failure. End by linking it to a system or skill you've built before.

What do you think I can do differently as a candidate?

This is a slightly different question, often asked at the end of an interview when you ask "do you have any concerns about my candidacy?" Treat it as a chance to address objections directly. Acknowledge the gap the interviewer might be worried about (experience level, industry switch, employment gap), and explain how you've planned to close it.

How do you answer "what can I do better or more effectively?"

This phrasing is usually a manager asking a direct report or a stakeholder. Be specific, kind, and forward-looking. Pick one behavior, give a recent example, and propose a concrete change. Avoid loading up several pieces of feedback at once.

Is it bad to criticize the company in an interview?

Not when they ask you to. The mistake is unprompted criticism, which signals poor judgment. When the interviewer asks the question directly, criticism (framed as opportunity) is the expected answer. Refusing to give one comes across as evasive.

What if I genuinely can't think of anything?

Use the "I haven't seen enough yet" pivot. Acknowledge that you don't have full visibility from the outside, name what you'd want to learn in your first 30 to 60 days, and commit to bringing a real point of view to your manager once you have the data. Don't fake an answer; faking gets caught.

How much should I prepare for this question?

Treat it as a top-five question for any interview where culture fit and strategic thinking matter. That's most senior-level interviews and a growing share of mid-level ones in 2026. Forty-five minutes of focused research the day before is the right investment. For executive-level roles, double it.

Can I use the same answer at different companies?

No. The whole point of the question is to test whether you've researched this specific company. Recycled answers are obvious. The framework is reusable; the content has to be fresh every time.

Final thought: this question is a gift when you treat it right

Most interview questions test what you've already done. "What do you think we could do better?" tests how you think about the company you might join, which is a much more interesting signal. Candidates who handle it well stand out, not because they criticize the company, but because they show up curious, prepared, and ready to contribute.

Treat it as a chance to show your homework, not a gotcha. Pair it with a few other tricky interview questions on your prep list, and you'll walk in with the kind of confidence that's hard to fake.

If your resume isn't doing the heavy lifting it should before you even land the interview, that's a separate problem worth fixing. Our resume writing service rewrites your resume to surface the strategic thinking and specific results that hiring managers are scanning for, so the candidates who get to the "what could we do better?" conversation in the first place are the ones whose resumes earned them a seat at that table.