Getting ready to interview top tech talent candidates, but not sure how to gauge their soft skills? We have what you need. Take a look at the most common behavioral interview questions below. They’ll help you uncover the capable candidates who are deep-thinkers, high-performers, and all-around standouts.
First, we’ll share the benefits of asking behavioral interview questions. Then, we’ll describe the types of behavioral interview questions to ask and share the most common behavioral questions for each type.
What are the benefits of asking behavioral interview questions?
Before we share some of the most common behavioral interview questions, let’s unpack why you should ask behavioral job interview questions.
Asking questions about hard skills is critical for every interview with candidates — especially in tech, of course. Resumes and cover letters usually suffice for determining whether candidates have the hard skills your organization needs. But behavioral job interview questions can help you gauge how an employee will act when on your team or in certain situations, assessing their soft skills.
Behavioral interview questions help recruiters use a candidate’s specific past experiences as predictors of future performance. By using behavioral job interview questions, recruiters “can gain insights into a candidate’s technical skills and their alignment with a company’s value, ultimately selecting individuals who not only possess the right skills, but also fit well within their organization’s culture,” ASML Delivery Leader – Recruitment / Service Delivery Operations Chris Lonas, SHRM-TA told us.
When crafting his behavioral interview questions, Recruiter Mill Founder Ugis Balmaks makes sure to ask specific questions about a candidate’s past. “Behavioral questions can be tricky because they often provoke generic responses,” he told us. Ugis Balmaks ensures that he explains the reason for asking certain behavioral interview questions so candidates have enough context and can generate relevant answers.
Ideal candidates effectively leverage specificity in their answers to behavioral questions through the STAR method: They’ll explain concrete situations they were in (S); describe the task they took on (T); describe the specific actions they took (A); and explain the outcomes and results (R). Answers should typically last two to four minutes.
Here are six types of top behavioral interview questions to get you started:
Types of behavioral interview questions
For many organizations, the most common behavioral interview questions fall under six categories: Adaptability, Collaboration, Growth Potential, Leadership, Prioritization, and Culture Fit and Add.
Below, you’ll find more about each type of behavioral job interview questions and the most common behavioral interview questions for those types:
Adaptability
Adaptability is key for tech talent to thrive, especially in rapidly changing technology and working environments. Employees with more adaptability can achieve better outcomes as priorities shift or roadblocks come up: Adaptable employees are much more comfortable making strategic adjustments.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions that gauge adaptability:
Describe a situation where you had to adapt to rapidly changing technology or industry trends. How did you keep your skills up-to-date, and what was the outcome?
Adaptability is key due to the constant changes in tech and industry trends. This question “evaluates the candidate’s capacity to embrace new technology and stay relevant, reflecting their long-term potential for your organization,” Chris Lonas told us.Talk about a time when you were asked to do something you had never done. How did you respond? What did you learn from the experience?
Look out for candidates who respond to this question with enthusiasm for tackling novel challenges and an eagerness to go outside of their comfort zone. Failure in these scenarios is probably as common as success, so see how candidates evaluate their mistakes constructively.The team that you'll be leading has gone through a lot of changes around their processes and KPIs recently. A part of the team is showing resistance to these changes. Have you been in a situation like this before and if so how did you deal with it?
As Recruiter Mill Founder Ugis Balmaks said, injecting specificity into your behavioral job interview questions where you can helps you better understand how candidates adapt to concrete situations, especially those that may be particular to your organization and its changes. This question specifically, in addition to gauging a candidate’s personal adaptability, assesses his or her ability to collaboratively adapt.Could you provide an example of a time when you faced a technical challenge that required creative problem-solving? How did you approach it? What was the result?
This question gauges the candidate’s ability to think outside the box, a skill that can help your team address complex technical issues effectively. Having an innovative mindset is key, Chris Lonas said.Can you provide an example of a project where you encountered a significant roadblock? How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from the experience?
This is one of the most common behavioral interview questions — and for good reason. Resilience and problem solving are “vital” in tech, Chris Lonas said. Asking this question helps you assess the candidate’s ability to navigate challenges, learn from failures, and contribute positively to your company’s culture of growth.
Collaboration
Technical roles require teamwork and collaboration skills that move the needle. Without collaboration, teams can get bogged down by roadblocks and inefficiencies. Collaborative candidates push their team members to greater success.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions to assess candidates’ collaboration skills:
Can you share an example of a project where you had to collaborate with a cross-functional team? What was your role, and how did you contribute to the team's success?
This question assesses the candidate’s ability to work effectively with others, a skill essential for problem solving and innovation. “Collaboration is crucial in the tech industry, as most projects involve diverse teams,” Lonas said.Which collaboration tools platforms do you prefer to use? How have you used them?
Communication skills are key to collaboration, especially with the right tools and approaches to using them. Tech2 Resources Founder Phil Gugliotta said it’s rare to see a role that doesn’t require tools like Jira, Confluence, Asana, Slack, and Trello. “It’s not just the art of communicating your ideas for a project or the necessary steps, but knowing the platform it has to be expressed on,” he told us.Tell me about a time when you had to work with a team member who had a different communication style or work approach. How did you adapt, and what was the outcome?
Diverse teams are very common in tech. This question evaluates a candidate’s adaptability and interpersonal skills, ensuring they can work well with colleagues who bring varied perspectives and approaches.Talk about a time when you were communicating with a team member and they didn’t understand you. What did you do?
This question helps you assess a candidate’s patience and their ability to take the time to make sure they’re being understood and can adjust their communication style accordingly.Describe the best supervisor or partner you’ve worked with. Which elements of their management or communication style appeal to you the most?
While this question at its face is geared toward hearing about other people, this question helps you see how a candidate views their own working style. It also gives you a look into the kinds of personalities they collaborate with best.
Growth Potential
Although you’re often hiring to fill specific positions and roles, be on the lookout for people with the potential to make roles their own so they can truly advance their careers. Identifying and selecting candidates with growth potential won’t only help you fulfill your immediate recruiting goals, but help you earn the loyalty of high-performing candidates and boost your retention in ways that will pay larger dividends for your organization.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions to assess candidates’ growth potential:
Describe a time when your manager wasn’t around and a pressing problem arose. How did you handle the situation? What steps did you take?
This question helps you assess how a candidate can rise to the occasion and fill a manager’s shoes, so to speak. Listen to the ways the candidate describes delegating and collaborating with others and their ability to break problems down into actionable steps.Tell me about a time when you asked for direct feedback from your manager and why?
This is one of the best behavioral interview questions to ask because it helps you gauge how self-motivated candidates are to regularly improve in their specific roles and their broader careers. See what types of questions candidates asked their managers and listen to how they acted on feedback.Talk about a time when you took it upon yourself to expand your knowledge at work.
In a similar vein to the last question, this question helps you gauge a candidate’s self-determination and eagerness to ask for resources — whether for specific aspects of their roles or for big picture career goals. Look out for candidates who demonstrate serious investment in continual learning and enthusiasm for new opportunities.What’s the biggest career goal you’ve achieved?
Use this question to see what motivated the candidate to develop this goal and how they were able to actualize their drive. Listen to the approach they took and the resources or people they leaned on.What are your future career goals?
As a companion to the above question, this question helps you see how a candidate builds on their vision for career success and development. This question also gives you the opportunity to see how a candidate can not only fit into your organization, but grow your team’s success.
Leadership
Asking behavioral job interview questions about growth potential goes hand in hand with asking questions about leadership. Even if you’re not hiring a leader specifically, identifying candidates with significant leadership qualities will help inspire other team members, and unlock your overall organization’s potential.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions to gauge candidates’ leadership qualities:
Tell me about a time when a coworker came to you with concerns. How did you handle their situation?
This question helps you assess how a candidate approaches collaboration and mentorship. See how the candidate describes their problem solving and how they provide actionable guidance to peers.Describe the last time something significant did not go according to plan. What actions did you take?
See how the candidate offers thoughtful reflection on their role and responsibilities and what they learned from the experience. Ideal candidates possess a strong sense of ownership and, as true leaders, do not shift blame to others. Instead, they deeply consider what they could have done differently.Talk about a time when you led by example. What did you do and how did others respond?
Ideal candidates demonstrate an understanding of how their behavior and actions impact those around them. See how candidates describe inspiring their team, specifically in the results and outcomes their leadership produced.Tell me about a time when you had to build credibility with stakeholders. How did you get buy-in?
This is one of the best behavioral interview questions for assessing how candidates leverage proof points and assertiveness without being disrespectful or pushy. Leaders demonstrate openness to discussing and addressing callouts from their teammates and stakeholders.Describe something that challenged you as a leader. How did it change your way of thinking?
Ideal candidates are flexible and always willing to iterate on their leadership style to ensure better internal relationships and results. Listen to how candidates internalized feedback or roadblocks to improve their leadership abilities.
Prioritization
Successfully delegation, juggling multiple key tasks simultaneously, and other prioritization skills are crucial for success — especially considering the day-to-day demands of working in a tech role with tight timelines and firm deadlines. Ideal candidates manage their time effectively and pay close attention to detail.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions to gauge candidates’ prioritization skills:
We often deal with tight deadlines. Share a situation where you had to meet a challenging deadline. How did you manage your time and resources effectively?
Time management and resource allocation are fundamental for tech projects. This question helps gauge the candidate's ability to handle the fast-paced environment while maintaining quality work.Tell me about the last time you juggled several projects at the same time. How did you organize your schedule? What was the result?
Ideal candidates are proactive and clearly organize their time, both for themselves and others on their team. That means they block off their calendar, create to-do lists, deprioritize tasks when necessary, and can clearly communicate their bandwidth expectations. Bonus points for candidates who can tie their organization skills to specific outcomes or process improvements.Describe a time you felt stressed or overwhelmed. How did you handle it?
See how candidates handled the situation and maintained their calm and focus by leveraging planning, prioritization, and on-the-fly reprioritization. Ideal candidates are able to communicate their stress levels and find ways to lighten their loads where possible, whether that be by delegating tasks or seeing which aspects of their timelines they can revisit.When was the last time you had to delegate an important task? How did you go about it?
See how the candidate demonstrates their understanding of delegation and how it drives success. Master delegators clearly communicate instructions, deadlines, and expectations and are ready to answer any clarifying questions.How do you manage your time and figure out how much time you reasonably need to complete a given task?
While this question may seem straightforward at first, ideal candidates will demonstrate that they’ve given careful consideration to how exactly they spend their time, determine their bandwidth limits, and find ways to maximize their efficiency.
Culture Fit
Depending on where your organization is at, these questions can achieve one of two things (or maybe even both): identify candidates who mesh well with your organization’s mission and values or select candidates who can bring new perspectives. These culture fit questions can help organizations reduce bias, both before and after the recruiting process. Finding candidates who can help evolve and grow your organization’s culture goes a long way in generating internal synergy and greater business success.
Here are five common behavioral interview questions to assess candidates’ culture fit and add:
How do you personally keep yourself updated with the latest industry trends and best practices?
Asking this question helps you assess a candidate’s commitment to learning, which importantly “aligns with the culture fit aspect” of a candidate, Chris Lonas said. Tech professionals need to stay updated, so their proactive approach to self improvement can be a valuable asset to your organization.Tech projects can sometimes require long hours and dedication. How do you balance your work commitments with personal life to maintain a healthy work-life balance?
Assessing a candidate's understanding of work-life balance is essential to ensure they align with your company's culture. “Burnout is a concern in the tech industry,” Chris Lonas said; asking this question “helps identify those who can maintain well-being while performing at a high level.”Are you comfortable receiving video calls during the day from coworkers and managers?
With large portions of tech professionals working remote or hybrid schedules, ideal candidates find a happy medium between working away from an office and maintaining an adequate level of professionalism through a “camera on philosophy,” Tech2 Resources Founder Phil Gugliotta said. For instance, candidates should “have a professional setting to work and be available from,” he said.It's in our company culture to stand up for what you believe is the right thing to do and not to compromise until you truly believe in the suggested path forward. Talk about a time when you disagreed with a co-worker and how you went about it.
You can’t always avoid disagreements or disconnects within your organization, so it’s important to identify candidates who can resolve friction while keeping their teammates’ and organization’s best interests at the forefront. Not only do candidates who can do this help teams navigate knots or difficulties, but they encourage a healthy culture of openness, collaboration, and constructive conversation.What’s the most interesting thing about you that’s not on your application materials?
See how candidates can bring the unique perspectives and experiences they’ve developed outside the scope of the role (or even outside the scope of work life). This question helps you view candidates holistically, rather than as bulleted lists of qualifications.
Conclusion
Devising behavioral job interview questions can be challenging, but we hope we’ve given you a solid sense of the most common behavioral interview questions to ask candidates. That way, you’re ready to go out there and determine which candidates will be outstanding fits for your organization.
For more on all things tech talent interviews, check out our recruiting advice and resource library. You’ll find more advice on devising interview questions — like the questions to avoid — along with our latest research and reports to inform your hiring strategies.
