A client rewrites your copy into something you believe is weaker. How do you handle it?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Understand the reason behind their edits
- Separate personal preference from goals
- Explain your choices using goals, data or audience research
- Offer a compromise or a test
- Accept that the client owns the final decision
Model answer
I try not to take it personally and first ask why they made the changes. Often there is a real reason I did not know about, such as a legal concern, a sales objection or how leadership talks about the product. If their edits conflict with the brief, I explain my choices in terms of the agreed goal and the audience, not my taste. For example, "the shorter headline matches what customers search for". Where we still disagree, I suggest an A/B test or a version that keeps their key point in clearer words. In the end the client owns the copy, so if they still prefer their version, I deliver it professionally, note the decision, and use results later to guide the next discussion.
Can you answer it under time pressure?
Take a timed medium round and get scored on every answer.
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