What are behavioral interview questions?

• A. Questions that ask about past experiences
• B. Questions about hypothetical future scenarios
• C. Questions that assess specific skills
• D. Questions about company policies

Answer: (A)

Behavioral interview questions are designed to reveal how you have actually acted in real work situations in the past, since past behavior is viewed as the best indicator of future performance. They typically ask you to share a specific situation, the task you faced, the actions you took, and the results you achieved, often using a structured approach like STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result). This focus on past experiences is what makes them the best fit for this question.

Hypothetical future scenarios are different; they’re situational questions that test how you think you would respond in an imagined future situation, not what you’ve done before. Questions aimed at assessing specific skills concentrate on your abilities and know-how, which may involve demonstrations or descriptions of techniques, but aren’t inherently about what you’ve actually done in past roles. Questions about company policies assess knowledge of rules and procedures rather than demonstrated behavior in past work.