100 Behavioral Job Interview Questions

Introduction

Most non-technical interviews today have a Cultural-oriented or Behavioral-Oriented part, in which interviewers want to see if you match the company values and if you may be a good fit for the organization in this sense. They want to see if you align with company's goals for their people, if you'll get along well with the existing employees, if your past non-technical expertise matches the soft skills of their job description.

There are many free pages on the Internet with related information. However, most of them are diluted, and very few offer an interactive experience. Most of those pages are written by people from HR, recruiters who only interviewed people, but who rarely had experienced the other side of the table.

Unlike them, the author here has been in both roles for dozens of times, over a three-decades experience in the software industry. To interview and hire people as a Development Manager, Team Lead, or Lead Architect. Or to be hired as a Senior Architect, Software Developer, or Consultant. While most of the following Behavioral Job Interview questions are common in different industries, the focus here is on high-tech, for computer-oriented organizations.

We offer five quizzes with 20 questions each. The questions are either multi-choice or multi-selection, with exactly five total choices each. In a following section, each question has the answer(s), with detailed explanations and at least one reference link:

(1) Most Common Questions - this section presents the most common questions in a typical Behavioral Interview. Walk through each one of them and remember the right answers and the eventual traps.

(2) Traps to Avoid - this section will focus on the traps to avoid in the most common questions from a Behavioral Interview, as presented before.

(3) The STAR Technique - this section has quizzes about the STAR technique, which is a structured manner of responding to a Behavioral Interview question by discussing the specific Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

(4) Company Values - this section emphasizes on typical core Company Values, that frequently come up in most of the Behavioral Interview questions.

(5) Written Communication - this section relates to styling and Behavioral-specific areas found in your resume, cover letters or other written communication.

An interactive version of this book has been provided on Udemy as 100 Behavioral Job Interview Questions.

Quizzes

Most Common Questions

This section presents the most common questions in a typical Behavioral Interview. Walk through each one of them and remember the right answers and the eventual traps. While most of them are common in different industries, the focus here is on high-tech, for computer-oriented organizations.

Question 1:

Describe how you handled your most difficult customer. Which of the following should be avoided MOST as an answer? (Select one)

Question 2:

Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure. (Check all that apply)

Question 3:

How do you set and achieve your goals? (Check all that apply)

Question 4:

You're working on a planned Sprint task, and a colleague asks for help for a very urgent matter. What do you do? (Select one)

Question 5:

What answers should be avoided when you're asked about your greatest weakness? (Check all that apply)

Question 6:

What is your greatest strength? (Select one)

Question 7:

Describe a right decision you made, that wasn't popular. (Select one)

Question 8:

Example of something you tried to accomplish but failed? (Select one)

Question 9:

How do you delegate tasks to other people? (Select one)

Question 10:

Tell us about your coaching skills. (Check all that apply)

Question 11:

You know one of your colleagues regularly steals for himself printer paper. What do you do? (Select one)

Question 12:

Are you better working alone? (Select one)

Question 13:

Are you outspoken? (Select one)

Question 14:

How do you work in a team? (Select one)

Question 15:

Example of a time