The Most Important Behavioral Interview Questions to Prepare for

In this article, we will cover the top questions (ordered from highest frequency) that candidates should practice with before their interviews.

As alluded to in the behavioral interview preparation overview, most behavioral interview questions can be categorized into 8 main themes for efficient preparation. We recommend candidates to prepare using this strategy and then refer to the list below for practice.

Top 16 most common questions​

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Walk me through your resume.
3. Why have you applied for this role and team?
4. Do you have any questions for me? (end of interview)
5. Can you tell me about a time you improved upon your work upon receiving criticism or feedback?
6. Can you describe a past project where you had to work with a difficult stakeholder or teammate and how you dealt with it?
7. Can you describe a time you creatively solved an engineering problem or achieved meaningful metric improvement?
8. Can you describe a time when you had to make an important engineering decision and how you decided between tradeoffs?
9. Can you give an example of a time when you had to work on a team project and had to compromise with others to reach a solution?
10. What do you think is your greatest area for improvement?
11. Describe a time you failed and had to alter course and adopt a new approach. How did you know change was necessary?
12. Can you describe a time when you had to work with a tight timeline but was not given a clear direction on how to proceed?
13. Can you describe a time when you had to adapt to changing priorities or requirements?
14. Tell me about a time you learnt a new skill outside of work and applied it to your work.
15. Tell me about a time you learnt a new skill set after observing others leveraging it to great success
16. Can you describe a time when you had to effectively communicate technical information to a non-technical audience and how you approached it?

Additional Questions for Leaders (Tech leads or Engineering Managers)​

Team Management and Leadership​

17. How do you approach the process of setting and achieving goals for your team?
18. Can you tell me about a time when you had to work with a tight budget or limited resources to achieve an objective?
19. How do you approach collaboration and communication with your team and stakeholders?
20. Describe a time when you had to handle an underperforming team member.
21. Can you describe a time when you had to adjust your management style to fit the needs of your team?

Cross Functional Collaboration​

22. How do you approach the process of gathering and incorporating user or client feedback into your work?
23. Can you give an example of a time when you had to balance business needs with engineering complexity?

Additional Questions for Practice​

We've grouped the most common behavioral questions into 8 major themes. Check out additional practice questions while studying them:

• "Tell me about yourself..."
• "Walk me through your resume..."
• "Why join this team or company?"
• "Do you have any questions for me?"
• "Tell me about a time when..." (categorized into below themes)
  • Driving results and problem solving
  • Collaboration
  • Growth mindset
  • Adaptability and flexibility