Overview.
Past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior. So it stands to reason that employers would be interested in asking interviewees behavioral interview questions – essentially probing past experiences to understand how the candidate weighed a situation, understood others thoughts, feelings and motivations, understood their own, and ultimately acted. This article provides a robust list of behavioral interview questions broken down by category for you to prepare for your upcoming job interview.
Leadership and motivating others. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time you led a deal/project in your work
- Tell me about a time when you motivated a colleague.
- Can you think of a time you demonstrated leadership?
- Tell me about a time when you had to motivate someone
- Tell me about a time you faced low morale.
Teamwork. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when a project team had a conflict.
- Tell me about a time you had to lead a team.
- Tell me a time when you supported a team member?
- Tell me about a time when you had to work with people who had less technical skills than you did.
- Tell me a time when you had to work with someone different from yourself.
- Describe a time when you had to work with someone less capable than you.
- It seems like you’ve had a lot of success in teams, so let’s switch it the other way. Tell me about a time when a team project didn’t work out.
- Tell me about a time you had to improve a team’s morale.
- Tell me about a time a team was struggling. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time when you had to infuse motivation into a team.
Impact. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time you changed a culture.
- Tell me about a time you impacted an organization.
- Tell me about a time when you felt like you really affected the outcome of something.
- Tell me about a time when you initiated a change in processes (or implemented new processes) in your organization.
- Tell me about the project you are the proudest of.
Change. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was causing the pressure and what did you do?
- Tell me about a time when your team or company was undergoing change. How did that impact you or those around you?
- Tell me about a time when you settled into a new situation.
- Tell me about a time when you had to think on your feet.
Mentoring. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time you acted as a mentor.
- Tell me about a time when you were mentored.
- Give me an example of a time you had to mentor someone.
- Tell me about a time when you helped somebody with their career.
Constructive feedback. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time you received unexpected feedback.
- Tell me about a time when it was hard for you to hear the feedback that someone shared with you.
- Tell me about a time when you received feedback.
- Tell me about a time you had to take others’ interests into account.
- Tell me about a time that you had to ask someone to change their behavior.
- Tell me about a time you had a discussion with your superiors and how you resolved it.
- Tell me about a time when someone said something and that made you change your actions.
- A time when you gave someone feedback in professional setting.
- Tell me about a time when your message was not received well.
- Tell me about a time when someone said something that made you change your actions.
- Tell me about a time when you were around someone who was unhappy or uncomfortable and how you responded.
- Tell me about a time when you had to give someone else constructive feedback.
- Tell me about a time when you had to share bad news.
Goal setting. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when you set a goal for yourself.
Managing change. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time that you had to change or adjust your opinion.
- Tell me about a time that you were asked to change your assumptions. What was said and how did you react? Were you asked to change your approach?
- Tell me about a time when your perspective needed to be shifted.
- Tell me about a time when your idea was initially rejected and how you worked around that.
Creativity. Behavioral interview questions.
- Give me another time when you thought outside of the box.
- Give me a time when you were entrepreneurial – i.e. thought outside of the box.
- Tell me about a time in your professional or personal life where you tackled an issue with a creative or innovation solution.
Persuasion and communication. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when you needed to convince someone of something
Have you ever advocated something that didn’t go through? - How did you convince people of change? How was it perceived?
- Tell me about a time you experienced a communication or cultural barrier in the workplace.
- Tell me about a time when you tried to persuade someone and failed.
- Tell me about a time you persuaded someone to do something? What were the consequences?
- Give me an example of a time you had to convince someone of your idea or opinion.
- Tell me about a time when your message was not well received by someone.
- Tell about a time when you influenced someone in a professional setting.
- Tell me about a time when you had to influence someone.
- Tell me about a time when you had to persuade someone else or a group of people to trust in your expertise.
Time management. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when you juggled competing priorities or deliverables.
- Tell me about a time when you managed numerous responsibilities. How did you handle that?
- Tell me about a project that you helped keep on track.
- Tell me about a time when your responsibilities felt a little overwhelming. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time you set a goal for yourself. How did you ensure that you met your objective?
- Tell me about a time an unexpected problem derailed your plan.
Disappointment, failure, and motivating others. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time that you really wanted to do something and were told that you couldn’t.
- Tell me about a time when your expectations weren’t met, how did you react and what did you do as a result?
- Tell me about a failure.
- Tell me about a time when your expectations weren’t met.
- Please tell me about a time you overcame a roadblock? How did you address it?
- Tell me a time when you faced a challenging situation that made you feel uncomfortable.
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an obstacle or overcome a hurdle.
Conflict and disagreement. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when you had a difficult interaction with someone or a group of people
- Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult colleague.
- Do you have subordinates on your job? If so, please tell me a time you had a conflict and how you resolved it.
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a very difficult individual at work. How did you manage the situation?
- Tell me about a time when you worked a team you didn’t get along with.
- Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict.
- Tell me about a time when you challenged someone’s opinion.
- Tell me about a time you were uncomfortable with the behavior of those around you. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time you had a challenging relationship with somebody at work.
- Tell me about a time when you faced a difference in opinion.
- Tell me about something you’ve done that was unpopular.
- Tell me of a time you worked with a colleague you disagreed with.
Customer service. Behavioral interview questions.
- Tell me about a time when you wanted to make a good impression on a client or customer. What approach did you use?
- Tell me about a time when you feel you didn’t meet a client or customer’s expectations. What happened, and how did you attempt to rectify the situation?
- Tell me about a time when youensured a client or customer was happy with your service.
- Tell me about a time when you had to communicate unpleasant news to a client or customer.
- Tell me about a time when you successfully handled a difficult situation with a client or customer.
- Tell me about a time when you prioritized one client or customer’s needs over another. What was your thought process and how did you go about doing that?