10 Behavioral Interview Questions

I like to ask behavioral questions in interviews. I find that they give me the best view of the candidate and how well they will fit into the team. My usual interview pattern is:

1. Greeting, breif description of the position
2. One or two questions about technical skills. I choose skills listed on the resume, and ask for examples from each of their last projects.
3. 3 or 4 behavioral questions. I take notes (not on the resume!) and try to summarize each answer to show I am listening.
4. A chance for questions or followup

I use this list for Product Managers, Developers and Project Managers. I look for slightly different answers from each - but the way that they answer tells me a lot about them.

• Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation with a collegue? How did you resolve the issue?
• Give me an example of a time you had to make a difficult or unpopular decision. Where you correct? What was the fall-out?
• What is an example of a recent challenge you have overcome?
• What kind of projects do you work on when you develop for fun?
• Here's an example of a program Epic <example> how would you break that down into user stories?
• How would you approach the design of the following user story: <story>
• Give an example of sucessful teamwork from your last project.
• Give an example of a Goal you had to meet and the steps you took to reach it.
• Tell me about a time that you failed to meet a goal. How did you fix the issue? What were the consequences?
• Give an example of a time that you made a mistake, learned from that mistake and avoided the problem in the future.