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Interview questions

Behavioral interview questions, and how to answer them

Behavioral questions ask about something you did in the past, like “Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight deadline.” Answer with one specific story: what was going on, what you did yourself, and how it turned out, with a number if you have one. Expect a follow-up on whatever you leave out.

A man in his 50s with a trimmed gray beard and a denim shirt at a wooden desk in the evening, telling a story out loud to his laptop with one hand raised mid-sentence

What a behavioral question is

A behavioral question asks what you did in a real past situation. They usually start with “Tell me about a time when…” or “Give me an example of…” The premise, as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) puts it in its guide to structured interviews, is that past behavior in similar circumstances is the best predictor of future behavior on the job.

  1. One real time

    UC Berkeley's HR office tells candidates to answer with a specific example of a time they already used the skill the interviewer is asking about.

  2. What you did yourself

    Berkeley's guide says to describe what you did, not what the group did. MIT's career office adds that “we” makes it hard for an employer to see your skills.

  3. How it ended

    GitLab's handbook tells its interviewers to check whether a story has a result or was left unfinished, and whether that result was measured.

  4. A link to this job

    OPM says each question should measure a skill the job needs. An Amazon recruiting manager tells candidates to prepare their stories from the job description.

If the question asks what you would do, it's a situational question. How to answer those →

Behavioral interview questions, by theme

These are the kinds of questions university and state HR offices list in their interview guides. Prepare one story for each theme and you can bend it to fit most questions in it. Listen for words like “most,” “last” and “worst.” OPM's guide tells the people who write the questions to use them, so you'll focus on one specific time.

  1. Teamwork and conflict

    “Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker.”

    “Describe a time someone on your team didn't do their share.”

    What it checks: Whether you worked it out with the person, and whether you blame them as you tell it.

  2. A mistake or a failure

    “Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work.”

    “Describe a project that didn't go as planned.”

    What it checks: Whether you own your part, and what you do differently now.

  3. Pressure and deadlines

    “Describe a time you had several deadlines at once.”

    “Tell me about the most stressful situation you've faced at work.”

    What it checks: How you decide what comes first, and who you tell when something has to slip.

  4. Going beyond the job

    “Give an example of a time you did more than the minimum.”

    “Tell me about a project you started on your own.”

    What it checks: Initiative, and whether it changed something you can point to.

  5. Communication

    “Tell me about a time you had to explain something complex.”

    “Describe a time you changed someone's mind.”

    What it checks: Whether the other person understood you, and what you actually said.

  6. Problem solving and decisions

    “Tell me about the toughest problem you've solved.”

    “Give an example of a time you had to make a difficult decision.”

    What it checks: What you checked and weighed, and why you chose what you did.

How to answer conflict questions, with sample answers →

Software engineer behavioral interview questions →

How to answer a behavioral question

Tell one story in three parts, and spend most of your time on the middle one. MIT's career office suggests giving about 60% of the answer to what you did.

  1. 1

    What was going on

    One or two sentences on the situation, what was at stake and what was yours to do. Skip the backstory.

  2. 2

    What you did

    Your own steps, in order, with “I” for your part. Amazon's recruiters tell candidates to say “I” when they describe what they did.

  3. 3

    How it turned out

    The result, with a number if you have one, and what you'd do differently. UC Berkeley's HR office tells candidates to quantify their results.

Career centers teach the same shape as the STAR method: situation, task, action and result. MIT's career office suggests preparing three to five stories as notes, since a memorized script is hard to adapt and can sound unnatural. If you're new to work, stories from school, volunteering or a part-time job count too.

The follow-up questions they ask next

Follow-ups go after whatever your first answer skipped. UC Berkeley's HR office warns that interviewers trained in this method won't accept a vague answer and will keep asking for details. Have an answer ready for each of these.

  1. “What did you do next?”

    SayThe next step, in order, and why you took it.

    Don't say“Then we sorted it out.” It skips the part they asked about.

  2. “What was the outcome?”

    SayWhat changed, with a number: from [before] to [after].

    Don't say“It went well,” or “Everyone was happy with it.”

  3. “What were you thinking at that point?”

    SayThe options you saw, and why you picked the one you did.

    Don't say“I just knew what to do.”

  4. “Is there anything you would have done differently?”

    SayOne real change, and a time you've used it since.

    Don't say“No, I think it went fine.” It sounds like you never looked back at it.

Keep blame out of it. In a 2018 CareerBuilder survey of 1,014 hiring and HR managers, 52% called seeming to lack accountability an instant deal breaker, and 48% said the same of talking negatively about a current or former employer. Tell the story so your part is clear and nobody else is the villain.

What not to say in an interview, and what to say instead →

Tell me about a time you failed

Yale's career office says a question like this checks how self-aware you are and how honestly you judge where you can improve. Amazon's interview tips say it's okay to talk about failure, as long as you've improved from what you learned.

  1. Pick a real one

    SayA real, moderate miss with a cost you can name.

    Don't say“I care too much,” or a disaster that's still going on.

  2. Own your part

    Say“I [the decision you made], and it [what it cost].”

    Don't say“The other team dropped the ball.”

  3. Say how you handled it

    SayWho you told, and what you did to fix it.

    Don't sayStopping at the failure, as if the story ends there.

  4. Say what changed

    SayWhat you do differently now, and a time it worked. CareerOneStop says to name what you've done to avoid a repeat.

    Don't say“I learned a lot.” Say what you learned.

  1. A MISSED DEADLINE

    “At [company] I owned [the deliverable] for [team or client], and I promised it by [date] without checking [what it depended on]. It slipped by [time], which [what it cost]. I told my manager that day, split the work into [smaller pieces] and delivered by [new date]. Now I check [what it depended on] before I commit to a date, and my last [number] deadlines have landed on time.”

  2. A CALL THAT WENT WRONG

    “I decided to [your decision] because [your reasoning at the time]. I'd missed [what you overlooked], and it cost [what it cost, with a number]. I told [who] what happened and [what you did to fix it]. Now I [what you do differently], and on [a later project] that caught [a problem] early.”

Communication skills interview questions

Every answer shows how you communicate, and these questions ask about it directly. GitLab's handbook asks its interviewers whether a story is clearly explained and easy to follow, including a technical story told to someone outside the field.

  1. “Tell me about a time you had to explain something complex.”

    Name who needed it and what you said to them. Berkeley's list also asks how you made sure they understood, so say how you checked.

  2. “Describe a time you changed someone's mind.”

    Their objection, and the evidence that moved them.

  3. “Tell me about a time there was a miscommunication at work.”

    How you found out, what you fixed first, and what you changed so it wouldn't happen again.

  4. “Tell me about a time you had to share an unpopular idea.”

    The words you used, and how people took it.

Practice your stories out loud

Type a job title or paste the posting. An AI hiring manager asks the kind of questions real hiring managers ask, including at least one “tell me about a time” story, and follows up on what you leave out, like the result or your own part. Your scorecard rates five skills, from Answer Structure to Communication and Presence, and quotes back any red flag it hears. An unscored panel also counts how often you said “I” and “we.”

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More to practice: Phone screen questions · Tell me about yourself · Reasons for leaving a job · Why do you want to work here? · Why are you interested in this position? · Where do you see yourself in 5 years? · Salary expectations · Questions to ask the interviewer · Hiring manager interview questions · Internal interview questions · Explaining an employment gap · Situational interview questions · How do you handle conflict? · What is your greatest accomplishment? · What are your weaknesses? · What are your strengths? · What not to say in an interview · How to answer interview questions · Why should we hire you? · Second interview questions