All the Behavioural Interview Questions I’ve ever been asked as a Software Engineer

When answering behavioural questions, remember the S.T.A.R. (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method. This will help you develop a good story and stay on point.

Think of one or more examples of each of the questions below and rehearse them.

Questions

Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker.

What was the most difficult working relationship you ever had?

Don’t rant. Talk less about the person’s personality and more about how that affected you or the project.

Tell me about a recent project you worked on; what was your role and list of contributions?

Tell me about a time you used data to influence a decision.

Tell me about a time when your initial assumptions were wrong. What did you do to fix things?

Give me an example of a project where you were pushed to a wall.

Give me an example of when you performed poorly on a project.

You might be tempted to answer this by making a weakness seem like a strength. Don’t do that. The interviewer will see that coming a mile away. Think about a mistake you made. It’s okay if it caused stress for your peer or derailed a project. Talk about how you tried to fix it or avoid it from happening again.

Tell me about a time when you had competing priorities in order to deliver a product.

Tell me about a time when you didn’t have all the desired information to complete a task.

What is a specific skill you acquired after observing your peer or mentor?