This is a long article. If you want to skip straight to the sample answers, here’s the link.
What are behavioral interview questions?
In interviews, companies often ask candidates about their past experiences. These are called “behavioral interview questions”. The idea behind these questions is that by asking how someone behaved in the past, you can learn something about who they’ll be in the future.
Behavioral interview questions are typically non-technical, focused on the candidate, and fully preparable in advance. They’re also based on the premise that people behave in similar ways in similar situations. So if you know what kind of person someone was in the past, you can predict how they’ll act in the future.
So instead of asking “How would you handle this situation?” or “Tell me about your greatest achievement”, employers tend to ask “Tell me about a time when…”.
The eight most common categories
Behavioral interview questions fall into eight recurring categories. Knowing which categories are likely to come up helps candidates anticipate the types of questions they’ll face, regardless of how exactly they’re phrased.
Initiative/leadership. Almost any job requires some level of initiative, so this category is almost bound to come up for any role. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you took the lead in a project.”
“Give me an example of a time when you had to convince others of your point of view.”
Learning speed/adaptability. When moving to a new project, job, industry, or product line, employers will often ask about how quickly you learned things and how well you adapted. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you were faced with a problem that required you to quickly learn a new skill.”
“Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a significant change at work.”
Mistakes/failures. Employers like to hear about times when the candidate didn’t succeed, but focus on the past situations and how the candidate overcame or handled them. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you made a mistake at work. What did you do to correct it?”
“Give me an example of a time when you failed to meet expectations. How did you respond?”
Stress and coping. Stress-related questions are usually framed as “Describe a time when…”. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stress at work or in a class that tested your coping skills. What did you do?”
Client/stakeholder expectations. This is similar to mistakes/failures, except that it focuses on expectations rather than failures. Examples include:
“Give me an example of a time when you didn't meet a client's expectation. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?”
Conflict/persuasion. This is another variation of the “Describe a time when…” theme. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you had to resolve a conflict with a co-worker.”
“Give me an example of a time when you had to persuade someone else to take a different approach.”
Work ethic. Work ethic questions usually focus on consistency and reliability. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you had to work under pressure to complete a task.”
“Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty.”
Teamwork. Teamwork questions are often asked when hiring for roles that require close collaboration. Examples include:
“Describe a time when you worked with a team to accomplish a goal.”
“Give me an example of a time when you helped a teammate improve his or her performance.”
Structured answer frameworks
Strong behavioral answers should follow a structured framework. This ensures that the answer stays focused and doesn’t ramble all over the place. There are several possible structures, including STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and SSR (Situation, Situation, Result). I recommend using SSR because it’s easier to remember and prevents the candidate from going off-topic.
Another alternative is the “story toolbox” method, which is basically just telling a good story. It’s a bit more involved than STAR or SSR, but it’s useful for answering questions that don’t fit neatly into one of those formats.
Sample answers
Let’s look at some examples of strong behavioral answers. First, here’s an organizational/initiative sample:
“I booked interview rooms for multiple candidates on the same day. I arrived early to ensure that each room was ready and that everything was set up properly. I also prepared an update for each of my one-on-ones, so that I wouldn’t have to wait until being questioned to provide updates.”
Here’s a conflict/persuasion sample:
“I once had a skeptical stakeholder who wanted to argue against a decision we’d made. Instead of getting drawn into that counterproductive argument, I redirected him away from it and addressed the direct objection he had. I explained that our training program would actually improve company culture and operational efficiency.”
No way to predict exactly which questions will be asked. But familiarity with the common types of behavioral interview questions and advance preparation of personal stories can materially improve readiness.