Technical Interview Questions - Behavioral Questions

Introduction

Hello Everyone! 👋

I hope you’re all doing well! 😄

I know many of you are following this series for the technical questions and examples, but today, I want to dive into a different part of the interview process: behavioral questions and the STAR method.

This idea came to me after an interview I had a few weeks ago with a former Google HR. During our chat, she shared some great tips that I think could really benefit you, so I’m excited to pass them along! 💪🏼

Now, I know that some of you might think these questions are pretty simple. But for those of us who aren’t native English speakers, a little preparation can help us feel more confident.

Also, while I was applying for different positions, I noticed that more and more companies are adding behavioral questions right from the start of the process, sometimes even in the application form itself. Some call this early step an “email screening” or “chat screening.” So, I think it's really important to be prepared.

## Topics
1. What are Behavioral Questions?
2. What is the STAR Method?
3. Questions
4. Recommendations

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What are Behavioral Questions?

✨Behavioral questions✨ are the questions interviewers ask to understand how you react in certain situations, how you handle challenges, and to learn more about your experience and ability to solve problems on your own.

These types of questions help the recruiter get to know you beyond your technical skills.

What are they expecting?

They expect you to answer these questions clearly and consistently. During my interview with this recruiter, one of the improvement areas she mentioned was that I sometimes answered questions without a clear structure. I also tended to spend too much time on each answer, occasionally circling back to the same points and repeating myself.

To answer these questions effectively and stay focused, one helpful approach is the 🎯STAR method.🎯

Which leads us to the next topic...

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What is the STAR Method?

The STAR method gives us a simple format to structure our answers, helping us cover key details without missing anything important. The idea is to think through your answers using these four points:

• S => Situation: Describe the context or background of the challenge you faced.
• T => Task: Explain your role and responsibility in that situation.
• A => Action: Walk through the steps you took to handle the situation.
• R => Result: Share the outcomes you achieved because of those actions.

A Quick Example

Question: Tell me about a time you cooked.

S: It was my friend’s birthday, and he couldn’t host at his place.

T: My goal was to host at my house and make a good meal for everyone.

A: I looked up recipes, bought the ingredients, and spent hours cooking.

R: We had a fantastic celebration, and everyone enjoyed the evening together.

You should use this method for all your behavioral questions—it really helps you stay focused!

(And yes, you could even use STAR to write LinkedIn posts about daily goals, like cooking, washing dishes, or cleaning the bathroom... but please, don’t do that 😅 )

Now that you know the STAR method, here are some behavioral questions I strongly recommend preparing for before your next interview.

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Questions

These aren’t questions I came up with or asked GPT—these are actual questions I was asked in interviews where I participated.

1. What is the most challenging project or feature that you developed? Explain the technical details.

2. Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work and how you resolved it.

3. Tell me about a time when you couldn’t meet a deadline. What did you do?

4. Have you ever had a disagreement with someone at work? How did you handle the situation, and what strategies did you use to reach a common understanding or compromise?

   Personal Note: From my experience as someone who has also interviewed candidates, if you’re in a senior position—whether as a Team Lead, Manager, or beyond—you can’t really say that you’ve “never had a disagreement.” Not having disagreements could suggest you’re not taking ownership or actively contributing to team decisions. The goal with this question is not to bring up a “bad” situation but to share a time when different perspectives were involved. Show your skills in discussing, defending your approach, and finding a shared solution.

5. Can you describe a situation where you had to use {{Insert company’s tech stack here}} to solve a challenge like scalability, performance, or deployment?

6. Tell me about a time when you had to take on a task outside your usual responsibilities. How did you approach it, and what did you learn?

7. Provide an example of a time when you had to work with other teams (Frontend, Backend, Product, etc.).

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Recommendations

Here are my tips:

1. Copy these questions and write out your answers for each one using the STAR method. ⭐️

2. Practice answering these questions out loud. 🔊
   If possible, record yourself. Personally, I find practicing in front of a mirror a bit cringy—but hey, if it works for you, go for it!

3. Why write out your answers?✏️
   Writing them forces you to think through at least one solid response that you can use in the future. But another reason is, as I mentioned before, many companies are adding these “behavioral questions” in application forms or emails. Having your answers ready in a document will save you time.

The next time you encounter a similar question, you can use ChatGPT to refine your response instead of rewriting everything. Try a prompt like this:

"You are an expert in the STAR method, and I need help answering this question: {Add question here} using my previous answer: {Copy your answer here}. Keep it short, don’t create experience I don’t have, use the STAR method, and keep my wording as much as possible."

This approach will help you apply faster, without resorting to overly generic AI answers.

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The end

I’m sorry if this post wasn’t the technical post you were expecting. I hope it’s as helpful for you as it was for me after I got that feedback from the recruiter. I’m really grateful to her for taking the time to help me improve my interview performance. 💖

Have a great week! 🫶🏻

See you next week for a technical post about interview questions!

Bye-bye.