Behavioral Interview Question Bank Categorized into 8 Themes
5 example questions for each of the 8 themes. In total, 40 questions!
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Welcome to this week's article, in which I've listed 40 behavioral questions categorized by 8 themes.
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Last month, I wrote an article titled “8 Key Themes You Should Be Preparing For Your Behavioral Interviews” to help you structure your preparation for your next big tech company behavioral interview. In the article, I also provided an example question for each of the theme.
One of the reader of the newsletter reached out appreciating the article and asking for more sample questions. And that’s how I got the idea for this article and to provide a question bank of behavioral questions as a free resource.
In this article, I have shared the 5 example questions for each of the 8 themes.
I understand 40 questions might be overwhelming. Here is what I would like you to do while you go through the questions:
For each theme, try to recall at least one personal experience that relates to at least one of the five questions within that theme.
For themes where you lack direct experience, brainstorm hypothetical scenarios and how you would handle them. This can help you prepare for unexpected questions.
After reviewing all themes, identify which areas you have fewer experiences in. Make a list of these gap areas for focused personal development.
Let’s get started!
1) Customer/User Focus Stories
Give an example of a time when you had to deal with a particularly challenging customer or user issue. What was the problem, and why was it difficult to resolve? What was the final resolution?
Can you share an experience where you identified a user need that wasn't being met by your current product or service? What steps did you take to address this gap?
Recall a time when you had to explain a complex technical concept to a non-technical user or customer. How did you approach this, and what was the outcome?
Describe a situation where you had to make a decision that prioritized long-term user satisfaction over short-term gains. What was your rationale, and how did you implement your decision?
Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback from a user or customer about a product or service you were responsible for. How did you handle it, and what actions did you take as a result?
2) Success Stories
Tell me about a time when you significantly exceeded expectations on a project or task. What were the initial goals, and how did you go above and beyond?
Describe a situation where you identified and capitalized on an opportunity that others had overlooked. What was the outcome, and how did it benefit your team or company?
Share an experience where you successfully led a cross-functional team to deliver a high-impact project. What challenges did you face, and how did you ensure its success?
Tell me about a time when you had to pivot quickly due to unexpected changes in the market, technology or circumstances. How did you adapt your strategy, and what was the result?
Describe your most significant professional achievement to date. What made it challenging, and what specific actions did you take to ensure its success?
3) Failure Stories
Tell me about a time when you failed to meet an important goal or deadline at work. What was the situation? What factors contributed to the failure? What lessons did you learn, and how have you applied them since?
Tell me about a situation where you made a poor decision that had negative consequences. How did you handle the aftermath, and what did you learn from this experience?
Describe a time when you failed to anticipate a major risk in a project. How did you discover the oversight, and what steps did you take to mitigate its impact?
Recall a time when a project you were leading failed to meet its objectives. What went wrong, and how did you communicate this to stakeholders?
Tell me about a time when you received critical feedback on your performance. How did you respond, and what changes did you implement as a result?
4) Conflict Stories
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with a colleague or team member. What was the source of the conflict? How did you approach resolving it?
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your manager's decision. How did you handle the situation, and what was the outcome?
Recall an instance where you had to mediate a conflict between team members. What approach did you take, and how did you ensure a positive resolution?
Describe a situation where you had to work closely with someone whose working style was very different from yours. How did you adapt to ensure a productive collaboration?
Describe a situation where you faced resistance when trying to implement a new idea or process. How did you handle the opposition, and were you ultimately successful?
5) Problem-Solving Stories
Give an example of a complex problem you encountered at work that required an innovative solution. What made this problem particularly challenging? Walk me through your problem-solving process you followed.
Describe a situation where you identified and solved a problem before it became a major issue. What indicators did you notice, and what preventive measures did you implement?
Share an experience where you successfully led a cross-functional team or had to work with multiple stakeholders/teams to solve the problem. What challenges did you face, and how did you ensure its success?
Tell me about a time when you had to solve a problem with incomplete or conflicting information. How did you approach gathering the necessary data, and what was your solution?
Tell me about a complex, long-term problem you solved. How did you break it down into manageable parts, and what was your overall strategy for addressing it?
6) Learning/Growth Mindset Stories
Describe a time when you had to learn a completely new skill or technology that was crucial for your role or a project. What was the situation, and why was this new skill necessary? What was your approach to learn it?
Describe a time when you proactively sought out a new skill or knowledge area that wasn't directly related to your current role. How did you approach learning it, and how has it benefited your work?
Share an experience where you received constructive criticism that was difficult to hear. How did you process this feedback, and what concrete steps did you take to improve?
Tell me about a situation where you had to quickly adapt to a major change in your work environment or technology stack. How did you manage your learning process?
Describe a situation where you had to learn from someone with less experience than you. How did you approach this, and what insights did you gain?
7) Leadership Stories
Tell me about a time when you had to lead a team through a particularly challenging situation or project. What was the context, and what specific leadership challenges did you face?
Describe a situation where you had to make an unpopular decision as a leader. How did you communicate this decision, and how did you handle any resulting conflicts?
Share an experience where you successfully developed and implemented a new initiative or program. How did you gain buy-in from stakeholders, and how did you measure its success?
Tell me about a time when you had to motivate a team that was facing low morale or burnout. What strategies did you use, and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a situation where you had to provide guidance to a team member who was underperforming. What approach did you take, and what was the result?
8) Time Management Stories
Describe a period when you had to manage multiple high-priority tasks simultaneously. What were the tasks, and why were they all critical? How did you prioritize them and your time?
Tell me about a situation where you had to significantly readjust your priorities due to an unexpected urgent task. How did you reorganize your workload, and what was the impact?
Share an experience where you implemented a new time management technique or tool that significantly improved your productivity. What prompted this change, and what were the results?
Recall a time when you had to delegate tasks to meet a tight deadline. How did you decide what to delegate, and how did you ensure quality while meeting the timeline?
Recall a time when you had to make a critical decision under significant time pressure. How did you balance the need for speed with the importance of making the right choice?
Quick Recap
The article presents a collection of example interview questions organized into 8 themes, with 5 questions for each theme. Here's a quick recap:
Customer/User Focus Stories: Questions about handling challenging customer issues, identifying user needs, and managing user feedback.
Success Stories: Questions about exceeding expectations, capitalizing on opportunities, and leading high-impact projects.
Failure Stories: Questions about missing goals, poor decisions, and learning from mistakes.
Conflict Stories: Questions about resolving conflicts with colleagues, disagreements with managers, and mediating team conflicts.
Problem-Solving Stories: Questions about tackling complex problems, preventive problem-solving, and managing long-term issues.
Learning/Growth Mindset Stories: Questions about acquiring new skills, adapting to changes, and handling constructive criticism.
Leadership Stories: Questions about leading through challenges, making unpopular decisions, and motivating teams.
Time Management Stories: Questions about managing multiple priorities, adjusting to unexpected tasks, and making decisions under time pressure.
Each theme aims to elicit specific examples from the interviewee's professional experience, focusing on their approach, actions taken, and lessons learned.
Access the question bank from the free resources page
JOB OPENINGS
Every week I feature 3 job opportunities in the newsletter. We're kicking off with roles at AWS as that's my area of expertise, but I'm planning to expand our scope to include openings from other companies down the line. Hiring managers, if you'd like to get your job listing in front of our 7000+ subscribers, don't hesitate to drop me a reply.
Here are this weeks’ 3 job opening highlights:
1) Senior Front-End Engineer, AWS Industry Products, Manufacturing, Healthcare and Life Sciences
Location: London, UK
Visa Sponsorship: Available
Link to job description: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2755437/senior-front-end-engineer-aws-industry-products-manufacturing-healthcare-and-life-sciences
2) Senior Solution Architect, Startups
Location: Sydney, Australia
Visa Sponsorship: Available
Link to job description: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2753220/senior-solution-architect-startups
3) Technical Account Manager, ES
Location: Bangalore, India
Visa Sponsorship: Available
Link to job description: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2747007/technical-account-manager-es-india
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