Top 50 behavioral interview questions to hire the right candidates

Along with evaluating the knowledge, skills, and experience of candidates, it is important to understand their working style, habits, and how they make decisions on the job. This ensures that the right candidate is hired for a suitable job role, improving the efficiency of hiring decisions. Here, asking the right behavioral interview questions can provide recruiters with the insights they need to hire the best-suited candidates.

Behavioral interview questions are frequently used by employers to assess candidates on their suitability for an open position within the organization. These questions evaluate candidates based on their behavior during specific scenarios and how they have responded to certain workplace situations in the past. Behavioral interview questions are not always straightforward, like asking a candidate how they will respond to excessive pressure at the workplace. Instead, these questions focus on asking candidates to describe situations when they were under pressure and how they handled it.

Behavioral interview questions help recruiters understand how candidates handle different workplace scenarios and how they solve problems to achieve successful results. Here, a candidate’s past successes may be a positive indication to gauge their success in the future. Behavioral interview questions are not technical or domain-based, as they mostly focus on the candidate, helping recruiters ascertain if the characteristics, aspirations, and motivations of the candidate are a good fit for the job role in question.

Behavioral interview questions should be asked after all applicable skills, aptitude, personality, and other relevant assessments have been administered by the candidates. This will help ensure that only relevant candidates with the required skills, traits, and knowledge move to the next stage. Once the results of each candidate on the assessments have been evaluated, recruiters can easily shortlist the number of job applicants who can move forward to the interview round.

1. Describe a time when you received criticism at the workplace.
2. Have you ever had to explain a difficult or complex task to a teammate?
3. Describe a time when you had to say no to someone at the workplace.
4. Tell me about a time when you took the initiative on a project.
5. Describe a time when you used creativity to solve a problem.
6. Can you describe a time when you had an interpersonal conflict at the workplace?
7. How have you helped your teammates succeed in previous roles?
8. Was there any incident that helped improve camaraderie in your team?
9. What is your process for approaching a problem?
10. According to you, what was the best idea you ever had for a team project?
11. List some improvements that you made in your latest job role.
12. Can you give an example of a time when you worked well in a team?
13. How did you handle a challenge at the workplace?
14. What is your goal-setting process?
15. Tell me about a goal you had set and achieved.
16. Was there a time when you had to deal with a difficult client or stakeholder? What happened?
17. Was there a time when you had to make an unpopular decision?
18. Describe a time when you motivated your teammates.
19. Was there a time when your to-do list got overwhelming? How did you manage it?
20. What do you like better, working as a part of a team or working alone?
21. What role do you generally assume when you work in a team?
22. Have you ever failed a team project? How did you overcome it?
23. Have you ever made a mistake?
24. Was there a situation when you took a risk but failed?
25. What is your biggest work-related regret?
26. Was there a situation where you had to assume a leadership role while working in a team?
27. Was there a time when you had to delegate responsibilities across a team?
28. How do you manage multiple projects?
29. Describe a time when your workplace underwent a major change. How did you adapt to it?
30. Tell me about a time when you kept a long-term project on track. How did you do it?
31. How will you describe your management style?
32. Has an unexpected problem ever derailed your planning? How did you recover?
33. What did you do to learn the ropes in your last job role?
34. How do you determine a reasonable amount of time to dedicate to a task?
35. When was the last time you asked for direct feedback from your seniors?
36. What is the motivation that will convince you to move on from your current job role?
37. What was the most difficult decision you made in the last six months?
38. Describe a time when you led by example.
39. Give an example of a time when you had to work with someone you didn’t get along with. How did you manage interactions with them?
40. What, according to you, is the biggest misconception your coworkers have about you and why?
41. What things are the most important for you in a job role?
42. Was there a time when you were assigned a task outside of your job description? How did you handle it and what happened?
43. Was there a time when you were asked to do something completely new? What was your reaction and what did you learn?
44. What is the most interesting thing about you that is not in your resume?
45. Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone to see things from your perspective.
46. Describe a time when a problem arose and management was unavailable. What role did you play in solving the problem?
47. What is better: submitting a perfect project late or submitting a good project on time?
48. What is the most challenging part of your job role?
49. Which of your skills make you a good leader?
50. Tell me about a skill that you have learned recently.

1. Tell me about a time when you took the initiative on a project.

Here, it is important to look out for candidates who don’t solely focus on themselves. Candidates should also give due credit to their team. They should also be able to give examples of how they went beyond their job description to take on more responsibility.

2. Describe a time when you used creativity to solve a problem.

Candidates should be able to describe a situation where an unexpected idea proved to be an effective solution. They should also clarify if they followed a creative process to arrive at the idea or if their creativity was more spontaneous.

3. Can you describe a time when you had an interpersonal conflict at the workplace?

It is important that a candidate describes a time when they disagreed about a work-related issue and not a personal one. They should also explain how they handled the situation. Look out for strong communication and negotiation skills among candidates.

4. What is your process for approaching a problem?

It is best if candidates explain their approach to solving problems with examples. They should also be able to explain their reasoning behind why they chose this process, along with examples that show its effectiveness.

5. Was there a time when you had to make an unpopular decision?

Such behavioral interview questions are generally asked of candidates who are interviewing for managerial or leadership positions. This question aims to understand how a candidate handles tricky or even unpleasant situations at the workplace.

6. Was there a time when your to-do list got overwhelming? How did you manage it?

This interview question aims to assess how good a candidate is at delegating tasks and how well they work under pressure. Look for answers where planning and prioritization helped candidates stay calm and focused.

7. Have you ever made a mistake?

It is a fact that everyone makes mistakes. However, a good candidate is one who admits it, learns from it, and moves forward, avoiding making the same mistakes again. Candidates should mention the situation and problem that led to the mistake, and they should speak about the reason behind that mistake without pushing the blame onto others.

8. What is your biggest work-related regret?

Again, it is important here that candidates do not talk about personal regrets. It is also okay if candidates do not have any regrets. It is possible that they do not regret their mistakes, which may not have caused too much harm, which they may have learned from.

9. How do you manage multiple projects?

Candidates should describe the steps they take when they have to juggle multiple projects. They should mention if they use software or notes to manage the projects, how they communicate with other teammates, etc.

10. Tell me about a skill that you have learned recently.

The best candidates will mention skills that are in high demand for the job role in question. This will showcase the candidate’s interest in their field and their general knowledge about the latest developments in their industry.

Mercer | Mettl offers a vast library of behavioral tests and assessments that can be used not only to identify and hire top talent but throughout an employee’s lifecycle as well. These behavioral assessments can also be combined with a rich repository of personality, aptitude, and domain-based tests to offer recruiters powerful insights into candidates, helping them streamline their recruitment practices.

A lot of time, money, and other resources are spent when recruiting for an open position in the organization. A bad hire can affect the organization’s productivity, culture, and overall costs. Behavioral questions and answers play a crucial role in helping recruiters understand the driving forces behind a candidate’s behavior, enabling them to hire the best-suited candidates for specific job roles.