Behavioural interviews · Question bank
The question bank
64 common behavioural questions, grouped by the competency they test, each with what it's really asking. Use it to drill your story bank: for every story, answer three questions from its column, out loud.
Openers and closers
How you frame yourself and why you're here. 8 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about yourself.Present, past, future in 90 seconds; steer toward your best stories.
- Walk me through your résumé.Same shape as above; pick highlights, don't read it.
- Why do you want to work here?Something specific about them, connected to you.
- Why this role?How your experience fits what the role needs.
- Why are you leaving your current job?Positive and forward-looking: what you're moving toward.
- Where do you see yourself in a few years?Growth that this role plausibly leads to.
- What are you looking for in your next team?Honest preferences that fit this team.
- Do you have any questions for me?Always yes: about the work, the team, how success is measured.
Ownership and results
Acting without being asked, seeing it through, measurable impact. 9 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you took on something outside your role.Initiative: the trigger was you.
- Tell me about the project you're most proud of.Scope, your part, and a measured result.
- Tell me about a time you saw a problem nobody was fixing.Noticing, owning, proving.
- Tell me about a time you delivered despite a major setback.Persistence and adjusting the plan.
- Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a project.Beyond the assignment, not just longer hours.
- Tell me about your biggest impact in your current role.A number, and why it mattered.
- Tell me about a time you had to finish something with very little support.Resourcefulness.
- Tell me about a time you improved a process.Before, after, and who benefited.
- Tell me about a time you made a long-term decision at a short-term cost.Thinking beyond this quarter.
Conflict and disagreement
Respect, evidence, resolution and commitment. 8 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager.Respectful challenge, then commitment.
- Tell me about a conflict with a teammate.Their view, stated fairly; how it was settled.
- Tell me about a time you worked with someone difficult.Understanding, not blame.
- Tell me about a time you pushed back on a request.Backbone, with evidence.
- Tell me about a time you disagreed and lost.Disagree and commit.
- Tell me about a time two teams wanted different things from you.Balancing stakeholders openly.
- Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news.Candour and timing.
- Tell me about a time someone disagreed with your design.Listening, data, changing your mind if needed.
Failure, mistakes and feedback
Honesty, ownership and lasting change. 8 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you failed.A real failure, owned, fixed, changed.
- Tell me about a mistake you made at work.Own it, fix it, change it.
- Tell me about a project that didn't go to plan.What you did when it went wrong.
- Tell me about a time you missed a deadline.Early warning, honest reset, prevention.
- What's the hardest feedback you've received?Heard it, changed something, checked.
- Tell me about a time you gave someone difficult feedback.Specific, kind, and followed up.
- Tell me about a time you were wrong.Changing your mind on evidence.
- What's a weakness you're working on?A real one, with what you're doing about it.
Leadership and influence
Moving people who don't have to move. 8 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you led a project.Direction, people and outcome.
- Tell me about a time you convinced others to adopt your idea.Understand, show, make it easy.
- Tell me about a time you influenced a team you didn't lead.Influence without authority.
- Tell me about a time you mentored someone.What they needed, and how they grew.
- Tell me about a time you set a technical direction.Framing, agreement, follow-through.
- Tell me about a time you had to get buy-in from senior leaders.Their goals, your evidence.
- Tell me about a time you raised the bar on your team.Standards others adopted.
- Tell me about a time you helped a struggling teammate.Support with judgement.
Ambiguity, priorities and trade-offs
Creating clarity and naming what you gave up. 8 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time the requirements were unclear.Shrink the fog, then a reversible step.
- Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete information.Matching care to reversibility.
- Tell me about a time you had competing priorities.How you chose, and who you told.
- Tell me about a time you had to say no.Trade-off stated, alternative offered.
- Tell me about a time you traded quality for speed, or the reverse.Deliberate choice, with consequences.
- Tell me about a time a plan changed late.Adapting without chaos.
- Tell me about a time you made a decision quickly.Bias for action, with a safety net.
- Tell me about a time you simplified something complicated.Invent and simplify.
Customer focus and quality
Starting from the user, and high standards. 5 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you went out of your way for a customer.Working backwards from the user.
- Tell me about a time you used customer feedback to change a product.Listening, then acting.
- Tell me about a time you refused to ship something.Standards, with reasons.
- Tell me about a time you found a problem others had missed.Diving deep.
- Tell me about a time you balanced a customer's request against what was right for them.Judgement over literal requests.
Learning and growth
Curiosity and how you get better. 4 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about a time you learned something new quickly.How you learn, and what you did with it.
- Tell me about the last technical thing you learned on your own.Curiosity that's real.
- How have you grown in the last year?A specific change, with evidence.
- Tell me about a time you stepped outside your comfort zone.Risk, learning, result.
Senior and staff level
Scope, framing and multiplying others. 6 questions. Read the module first.
- Tell me about the most complex project you've led.Scope across teams, and your part in it.
- Tell me about a time you changed how your organisation works.Organisation-wide influence.
- Tell me about a problem you found that nobody else had noticed.Framing the problem, not just solving it.
- Tell me about a technical decision that's still paying off years later.Long horizon, measured.
- Tell me about a time you grew someone into a leader.Multiplying others.
- Tell me about a time you killed a project.Judgement about what not to do.
How to use this bank
- Story first, question second. Pick a story from your bank, then answer three questions from the columns it covers.
- Random mode for realism. In the real round you don't choose the question. Press the button, think for ten seconds, then answer.
- Hand it to a friend for a mock round (Module 12), and ask them to follow up on whatever sounds thin.