SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Behavioral interview questions

Here are some common behavioral interview questions and suggestions for how to answer them.

1. Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation.

2. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake. What did you do to correct it?
3. Tell me about a time when you were in conflict with a peer and how the situation was
resolved.
4. Tell me about how you work under pressure.
5. Give me an example of how you set goals.
6. Give me an example of a time you made a decision that was unpopular and explain how
you handled implementing it.
7. Share an example of how you were able to motivate a coworker, your peers or your team.
8. Tell me about a goal you set and reached and how you achieved it.
9. Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get everything
done.
10. Tell me about a goal you failed to achieve.
11. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a supervisor.
12. Tell me about a time you had to stand up for your beliefs.
13. Can you share about a time you had to be flexible or adaptable?
14. Talk about a time when you’ve had to manage up.
15. Tell me about a time when you felt like a good leader.
16. Tell me about your proudest moment in your professional career why it was meaningful
to you.
17. Tell me about a time you had to learn quickly.
18. Give me an example of a time you had to prioritize certain tasks or projects over others.
19. Tell me about a time you made a difficult decision.
20. Give me an example of a time when you persuaded someone. How’d you do it and why?
21. Tell me about a time when you collaborated with others who were different than you.
22. Tell me about the best presentation you’ve given. Why was it good?
23. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager’s leadership style or team
culture.
24. Tell me about a time when you had to be creative to solve a problem.
25. Can you give me an example of a time when you felt dissatisfied with your work?
26. Tell me about a time you wish you’d handled something differently.
27. Tell me about a time you felt you went above and beyond.
28. Can you give me an example of how you’ve contributed to the culture of previous teams,
companies or groups?
29. Tell me about a body of work you felt was most impactful for you or your company.
Behavioral interview questions with example answers
1. Tell me about a time when you handled a challenging situation.

With this question, the interviewer wants to see how you handle challenging situations when
they arise. A great example is one where you successfully problem-solved to overcome the
challenge. It could also be an example of a time you made mistakes in handling the challenge but
learned from the experience and know what you would do differently next time.

Example: “In my last role as a Software Engineer I used to work directly with a client, he
owned an educational web application where teachers could assign their students with quizzes.
When I started working with him, he came up with all his ideas, I suppose many of them he has
had for quite a while. One item on his backlog was about one old idea he used to have. The issue
to me was that there was not much information about it, but some screen mockups. To cope with
that I asked him several questions to figure out a data model and asked some of my teammates
about some insights, such as for a template for developing backend environments. The outcome
was that I successfully managed to deploy this new app. In addition to that I managed to
integrate both though an API call. So, if you had an account on his main app, then you would
not be required to register once again in the new app. Which led to an increase in sales.”

2. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake. What did you do to correct it?

The interviewer understands that everyone makes mistakes. What they want to know, with this
question, is how you handle mistakes. A great response to this question is one in which you take
full responsibility for the mistake, worked hard to correct it and took steps to minimize the
likelihood that it would happen again.

Example: "When I was working at a printing company, I misquoted the fees for a particular job.
I realized the mistake, I went directly to my manager and explained what happened. He said he
appreciated my honesty and suggested that we waive the setup fee for the job as an apology to
the customer. I spoke to the customer directly and explained what happened and that the quoted
price was actually higher than my original estimate, but that we would be happy to waive the
setup fee. The customer understood and appreciated the effort to make the situation right. After
that happened, I printed our price sheet to have it quickly at hand and implemented a new
process for quoting estimates, one in which I double-check the final estimate before sending it."

“In my previous job as a Cloud Full Stack engineer I used to be ”

3. Tell me about a time when you were in conflict with a peer and how the
situation was resolved.

In workplaces where there are a large number of people with different personality types and
communication styles, conflicts can occur. The interviewer wants to see, with this question, how
you handle conflicts in the workplace and what your conflict resolution strategy is. A great
answer is one where you demonstrate a specific strategy that you used to resolve a problem and
find a mutually agreeable resolution.

Example: "I had a sales manager who was great about stepping in to help when members of our
team were struggling with meeting goals. However, she had a single approach that didn't work
for everyone and members of our team were getting frustrated and felt they were being micro-
managed. I suggested that I sit down one-on-one with our manager, having heard the
frustrations of the team. I avoided us all sitting down because I didn't want her to feel ganged up
on and become defensive. After talking, we decided that she would let team members know her
door was open if they needed help but that she would let them be in charge of the strategy they
used to meet their goals. We also implemented a monthly, optional training program where we
had different team members present what was working for them in order to offer a variety of
approaches."

4. Tell me about how you work under pressure.

The interviewer is using this question to see how well you work under pressure and what
strategies you have used in the past to handle the pressure. This question is especially important
if you're interviewing for a high-stress job. A great answer will give a specific example of how
you managed a high-pressure situation successfully. It could also include what you would have
done differently, looking back.

Example: "I had been working on a large project that my team committed to turning around for
the client in 60 days. My manager came to me and said that the client wanted it back in 45 days
and that we would need to speed up our work without losing momentum on our other projects. I
met with our team and we reviewed the calendar. We eliminated team meetings and shifted
lower-priority tasks until the end of the 45-day period to add extra hours to our workweeks. I
challenged my team to complete the project in 45 days or left and as a reward promised two
days of extra PTO time. Our team got the job done in 42 days."

5. Give me an example of how you set goals.

This question is designed to show the interviewer how well you plan and set goals. A great
answer is one where you discuss an ambitious goal you set for yourself and how you came up
with a plan for success.

Example: "Within a few weeks of beginning my job as a server at a restaurant, I knew I wanted
to work in the foodservice industry as a chef. I decided I would learn all I could in my current
position until an opening became available in the kitchen, even for less pay. I wanted the
experience of working in a restaurant kitchen environment. I also started saving up money at
that time to go to the culinary academy. I knew that by the time I finished school, I would have
been working in the kitchen for a number of years and would be highly competitive as a
candidate for chef roles."

6. Give me an example of a time you made a decision that was unpopular and
explain how you handled implementing it.
Managers sometimes have to make difficult decisions that aren't popular with all employees. The
interviewer wants to know how you handle this situation and how you implemented the new
policy or plan. A great answer is one where you show you moved forward with the decision but
communicated your reasoning to garner the support of more of the employees.

Example: "I took over management of a gym where the trainers were allowed to cover one
another's shifts without the knowledge or approval of management. I didn't like the uncertainty
involved, because if someone failed to show up for a class, there was no way to know which
trainer was supposed to be there. I implemented a new policy that required trainers to go
through management to make schedule changes. I also explained the problem with the previous
approach and how this would resolve any possible issues."

7. Share an example of how you were able to motivate a coworker, your peers or
your team.

With this question, the interviewer is evaluating your ability and willingness to lead, even
informally. A great answer is one that shows you provided encouragement and offered help in
some way. This could mean you offered to help with some work if they've fallen behind or that
you suggested helping them with strategies to move through their work more quickly and
efficiently.

Example: "I noticed that one of my coworkers was having a hard time meeting her sales quotas
each month. I told her that not every sales technique works for every personality and that it can
take time to figure out what will work best for her. I suggested we find time over the next day or
two and I would show her some techniques I was using that I found highly effective. And it
worked! After a couple of weeks of practice and trial and error, she was consistently hitting her
quota."

8. Tell me about a goal you set and reached and how you achieved it.

For this question, the interviewer wants to see how you plan to achieve a goal. A good answer is
one where you were given a goal, created a plan and followed the necessary steps to achieve it. A
great answer is one where you set your own goal, especially a large goal, and took the necessary
steps to reach it.

Example: "In my last role, I managed all social media content. One quarter, I set a stretch goal
to increase conversions to our website by 75%. I broke it down into weekly goals and researched
what other brands were experimenting with. I noticed they were using videos and seeing great
engagement from their customers, so I asked my boss if we could do a low-budget test. She
agreed, so I produced a video cheaply in-house that drove double the engagement we normally
saw on our social channels during the first week. With the new strategy, I not only met my
stretch goal, but I also exceeded it by 5% increasing total conversions by 80% over the
quarter.”

9. Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get
everything done.
This question is designed to evaluate your commitment, work ethic, prioritization skills and
ability to communicate. While the interviewer doesn't expect heroic efforts daily, they do want to
see a level of dedication to getting your job done. A great answer is that you either stayed late to
finish your work, came in early the next day or prioritized differently. It's also important to
emphasize that you communicated to others that you might miss a deadline in case changes need
to be made or clients need to be contacted.

Example: "We had a client who wanted us to deliver new social media content to them by
Wednesday of each week to get it scheduled for the following week. One week they requested
double the content in order to increase their online activity in advance of a big launch. I decided
to stay late the night before the deliverable was due. I also let the manager know that we might
be a few hours behind for our content that week. A coworker and I went in early the next
morning, together, made our deadline."

10. Tell me about a goal you failed to achieve.

With this question, the interviewer is evaluating how you handle disappointment and failure.
They also want to see how you decide when it's time to give up, accept that something didn't
work and move forward. A great response is one where you set a huge goal, didn't achieve it,
took responsibility and learned from the experience. Some examples of things you could learn
from it are what you would do differently next time, something about yourself, what motivates
you or what is truly important to you.

Example: "I was working on a start-up where our goal was to create content that would educate
parents about why it's important to spend time as a family around the dinner table.
Unfortunately, we were never able to figure out a way to monetize the business. We polled our
audience and tried many different ideas, but after a year we had to move on. However, I learned
so much from the process. I developed numerous skills and realized I'm incredibly good at
shifting direction when something isn't working. I realized I don't let defeats discourage me for
long. Each time something didn't work, I picked myself back up and moved forward."

Tips for answering behavioral interview questions

Here are some tips you can use as you answer behavioral interview questions:

 Prepare ahead of time: While you may be asked a few uncommon questions, most
interviewers ask many of the same interview questions, which is why it's helpful to
review common behavioral interview questions in advance and practice your responses.
This will ensure you have thoughtful anecdotes ready in advance.

 Prepare specific examples: Another way to feel fully prepared with anecdotes is to think
of examples for every responsibility or challenge listed on the job description. Keep in
mind that they don't have to be direct examples. For example, if you're applying for a
manager job but have never been a supervisor, talk about how you were the go-to person
on your team for training new employees and were widely known as a problem-solver.
 Draw from the job description: Carefully review and use the job description to craft
your answers. Its important that you explain exactly why you’re a good fit for the role by
preparing examples of times you’ve proven yourself to be the ideal candidate. For
example, if the job description explains that the role requires a person who can handle
conflict, you should prepare a specific example of a time you handled conflict well—and
then relate it back to the job.

 Take your time answering: After a question is asked, give yourself a moment to think
of an appropriate story before answering. Take a breath, pause or even take a drink of
water to calm any nerves before responding.

 Be positive: While behavioral interview questions require you to think of a failure or

problem at work, don't focus on that part of your story. Describe the background enough
so that the interviewer understands the situation and then quickly move on to how you
solved the problem and the results you achieved.

 Follow the STAR method: Use the STAR method to answer any question. STAR stands
for situation, task, action and result. For Situation, briefly share context and relevant
details for the challenge or problem you were facing. For Task, describe your role in
overcoming the challenge or handling the situation. For Action, explain what action was
taken by you or your team, although it's important to focus on the role you played,
specifically. For Result, share the successful outcome. If possible, provide quantifiable
results or concrete examples of the effect of your effort.