SWE Behavioral Interview Questions
10 questions with detailed answers and analysis of what makes them work.
Behavioral Interview Tips for Engineers
Use STAR, But Don't Be Robotic
Situation, Task, Action, Result is a useful framework, but don't announce it. Your answer should flow naturally while hitting those beats. Spend 20% on setup, 60% on your specific actions, and 20% on results.
Have Numbers Ready
"Improved performance" is weak. "Reduced API latency from 800ms to 120ms" is strong. For every story you prepare, know the metric that proves impact. If you can't measure it, explain how you'd measure it.
Don't Over-Engineer Your Stories
Behavioral questions want to see how you work with people, not how smart you are technically. If you spend 3 minutes on the technical context and 30 seconds on the interpersonal element, you've missed the point.
Practice Makes Better
Reading questions helps. Practicing out loud helps more. Getting feedback on your actual delivery is what makes the difference.