21 Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers
- Develop strategies to demonstrate self-awareness, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities, enabling a deeper connection with interviewers and better showcasing of relevant skills.
- Understand how reflective responses can portray personal growth and resilience, effectively improving your ability to handle future challenges in the workplace.
- Comprehend the significance of the interviewer’s perspective during a job interview and how to leverage this understanding to effectively respond to behavioral questions.
It’s easy enough to prepare for most interview questions. You write down your greatest strengths and weaknesses, and you think about where you’ll be in five years. Plus, if you need a refresher on common interview questions, you can check out the most common interview questions here. But then there are those other questions, the ones that start with, “Tell me about a time when …” These questions, known as behavioral questions, require you to tell a story that demonstrates what your resume only says.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of behavioral interview questions. Then, we’ll review some essential behavioral questions and answers, so you’ll know what to expect and what to say.
How do you recognize behavioral interview questions?
Unlike typical interview questions, behavioral questions require you to respond with examples that demonstrate your past behavior. A good answer provides hard, real-life evidence of your soft skills, proving whether or not you’re a good fit for the job at hand. Let’s look at the difference:
Typical question: What’s your greatest strength?
Behavioral question: Tell me about a time when you succeeded at work.
As you can see, you can recognize common behavioral questions by how they’re structured. They begin with phrases like “tell me about a time,” or “describe a time,” or “give me an example of …” To answer them, you need to learn how to craft compelling stories that fit the internship or job.
So, why do hiring managers ask these questions? The basic idea is that past performance predicts future success. If you’ve demonstrated success in certain key areas in former roles, you’re likely to succeed in your new one. Second, by asking the same behavioral questions to each candidate, they can easily discern how different people interpret these common concepts and react to these common situations. It provides a good baseline. Finally, these questions require detailed answers, which, hopefully, speak to your specific impact. As we know, quantifying your accomplishments and focusing on the specifics is crucial to a successful cover letter, resume, and interview.
When preparing for an interview, you should assume every interviewer will ask behavioral questions. The questions can be tailored to fit any job, at any level, in any industry. And if your recruiter doesn’t use them, your stories can still be used to answer straightforward questions. By answering “What’s your greatest strength?” with a detailed story, you’ll wow them!
Sample behavioral interview questions and answers
Behavioral interview questions vary widely, and there’s no sure-fire way to predict the exact questions you’ll be asked. The good news, however, is that these questions tend to relate to common themes, such as teamwork, leadership, conflict, and problem solving.
Below, we’ve outlined these themes, including a few sample behavioral interview questions for each one. Although the exact wording may differ in your interview, the themes will likely remain the same. For each theme, we’ve provided one sample answer—and while we’ve kept our examples pretty succinct, you might want to go into more detail. Just remember to keep your responses to around two minutes each! As you read through the questions and answers, identify two or three of your own success stories for each theme.
Teamwork Questions
Pretty much every job requires you to play well with others, so you can expect a couple of teamwork-related questions in your interview. The interviewer wants to know if you work well in groups, which roles you gravitate towards, how you communicate, and how you react when faced with challenging personalities.
Example questions:
- What’s the most successful team project you’ve worked on?
- Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team and felt disappointed in the outcome.
I didn’t want to micromanage and was focused on my own work, so I just forged ahead. I checked in with my teammates two days before the presentation, and one had done absolutely nothing. I was furious. However, I took a deep breath, and the three of us met up. We worked all night long to make those graphs and get the poster designed. In the end, it wasn’t great, but it was something. It taught me that on a team, everyone needs to work together to ensure a great outcome. Now, I always schedule regular check-ins with team members, making sure that we’re on the same page and moving forward in a timely manner.
- Share a time when you had to work with a teammate who wasn’t pulling their weight on a project. What happened?
Leadership Questions
Leadership isn’t just for managers. It’s also about stepping in and stepping up when things stall, or speaking on behalf of the team when addressing your boss. Do you have the potential to train, motivate, and help others? Employers want to see that you can take the initiative and go above and beyond.
Example questions:
- Tell me about a time when you stepped up into a leadership position.
- Who have you mentored or coached to achieve success?
- Describe a time when you led by example.
Handling Conflict Questions
It may seem strange to talk about conflict in an interview. After all, wouldn’t a perfect employee avoid it altogether? But no two people are alike, and conflict is bound to pop up from time to time. Your interviewer wants to hear you discuss conflict openly and, more importantly, they want to know how you handle it. This says a lot about whether you’ll fit into their company culture.
Example questions:
- Give me an example of a time when you had to respond to an angry customer.
- Tell me about a time when you had a difference of opinion with a teammate.
- Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your supervisor. How did you handle it?
Problem-Solving Questions
Employers are always looking for resourceful people. When you discuss your problem-solving abilities, remember that the problem doesn’t have to be big. It could be as simple as not knowing where to find something you need for a project and taking the initiative to find it. The interviewer wants to hear that you can identify obstacles and troubleshoot solutions. They’ll be listening for responses that demonstrate your creativity, determination, initiative, and ability to get results.
Example questions:
- Tell me about a time when you suggested a new, more efficient approach to doing something.
- Describe a time when you anticipated a problem and came up with options to solve it.
- Give me an example of a time when you had to analyze information and make a recommendation to someone.
Failure Questions
No interview would be complete without a question asking about failure (that’s why we have a whole guide on the “greatest weakness” question). This is another area where people struggle. They don’t want to talk about failure in an interview! But everyone has failed at one time or another, and if you learned from the experience, it’s not a failure. The interviewer wants to know that you can admit to your failures, take responsibility, and learn from your mistakes.
Example questions:
- Tell me about a decision you regret making.
- What is your biggest professional mistake? How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time you failed.
Work Ethic Questions
Every single candidate who walks through the door will tell the employer that they’re a hard worker. You need to differentiate yourself by proving it—and you can do that by sharing stories that demonstrate your determination, initiative, and reliability.
Example questions:
- What are you most proud of? Why?
- Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to get the job done.
- Share a time when you had to juggle multiple important projects at the same time. How did you deal with that?
Computer Questions
In today’s world, computer skills aren’t preferred—they’re required. Many times, employers want to hear you talk about your experience versus just asking if you’ve worked with a certain program. It helps them to understand whether you’re more of a beginner or an advanced user.
Example questions:
- Tell me about the most complex spreadsheet you’ve built in Excel.
- This role will require you to create presentations in PowerPoint. Tell me about your experience with PowerPoint.
- When was the last time you used HTML coding in a project? Tell me about it.
How do you answer behavioral interview questions?
Now that you know how to spot behavioral questions, let’s discuss how to craft your own compelling responses.
Always start by reviewing the job description. It holds the secrets to the types of questions you’ll be asked. Read it carefully and note any skills or experiences a candidate would need to do the job well.
For example, let’s say you’re interviewing for an internship in marketing. As you read the internship description, ask yourself: Is it creative, analytical, or social media marketing? Does it mention any specific software or systems? Does the internship require independent work, teamwork, or both? Are there external or internal customers? Do they mention preferred experience in anything?
Okay, now look at all the areas you wrote down. You need to come up with personal success stories for each of these areas. These stories should highlight your skills and value-add. Once you have a solid repertoire of stories, you can adjust them to fit a variety of behavioral interview questions. You’ll feel great knowing that each and every one of your responses is addressing a definitive need for the role.
As for how you tell those stories: that’s what the STAR method is for. We’ve looked at the STAR method before, so if you need a refresher, we’ll wait. Basically, STAR gives structure to your stories, ensuring your interviewer has everything they need to visualize you in the job. STAR ensures that you provide those juicy, specific details that interviewers look for.
STAR stands for:
- S– Situation: Who, what, where, when, why?
- T– Task: What was your role, assignment or goal?
- A– Action: What did you do?
- R– Result: What happened? How did it end?
Piece together your success stories by answering each of the questions above. Remember to be concise, stay positive, and always tell the truth. You can review specific examples in our STAR guide. After a little practice, it will become second nature.
Understanding the Interviewer’s Perspective
Interviewers ask behavioral questions to understand how you have performed in the past and to predict how you might perform in the future. They’re seeking concrete examples of your skills, experiences, and how you handle different situations. Their aim is to assess if you are a good fit for the role and the organization.
From the interviewer’s perspective, your responses provide a glimpse into your thinking process, work ethics, problem-solving skills, and how you handle setbacks. Your stories should illustrate your resilience, adaptability, and most importantly, your ability to learn from past experiences. It’s important to keep in mind that interviewers are not trying to trip you up or make you uncomfortable. They are just trying to get a deeper understanding of who you are and how you work.
For instance, when an interviewer asks a question about handling conflict, they’re not necessarily interested in the conflict itself but more in your approach to resolving it. They want to see if you are able to communicate effectively, listen to others, empathize, and devise a constructive solution. Similarly, a question about failure isn’t designed to embarrass you, but to understand how you manage difficult situations, accept responsibility, and learn from your mistakes.
An interviewer is also keen to understand if you are self-aware, and your capacity for personal growth. A reflective response to a question about failure or a weakness, for instance, demonstrates that you can objectively evaluate your actions and continuously seek to improve yourself.
Remember, the interviewer is on your side. They want you to succeed. The interview is an opportunity for both parties to see if the match is right. Approach it as a conversation where you’re as much in the process of discovering if the organization is right for you as they are of determining if you’re right for the role.
If you bear this perspective in mind, it can help you approach behavioral questions with a clear, focused strategy and minimize any interview anxiety.
Now, it’s time to practice.
Once you’ve got the basics down, you need to practice telling your stories. Write them down, read them over, and practicing sharing them out loud. Repetition helps you remember all the important pieces to complete your STAR response.
Practice also ensures that you sound confident and relaxed. You don’t want to sound stilted or anxious; rather, you want your stories to sound conversational.
So there you have it: the secret formula to creating the best response to any behavioral interview question you’re asked.
Keep practicing. Keep sharing. You’ll be ready for that interview in no time!
