What is a behavioural interview?
A behavioural interview is built on questions about the past. Instead of asking what you would do, the interviewer asks what you did: tell me about a time you disagreed with a manager, handled a production incident, or had to give a client bad news.
The reasoning is simple: how someone acted in a real situation says more about how they will act again than a description of their qualities. Interviewers follow up on details, which is what makes a vague or invented example easy to spot.
How do you recognise a behavioural question?
By its opening. Tell me about a time, describe a situation, give an example of. The question always points to a specific moment, not to a general habit. Some questions hide the format: what was your biggest mistake, or how did you handle your last conflict, still ask for a real example.
Answers work best with a structure: the context, your own role, what you did and what came of it. The best-known structure is the STAR method, explained in the Sparagus guide to using the STAR method in behavioural interviews. This entry defines the interview format. The guide explains how to answer it.
How is a behavioural interview different from a situational interview?
By the tense. A situational interview asks a hypothetical question: what would you do if a release failed the night before launch? A behavioural interview asks for a real one: tell me about a release that failed, and what you did.
Both test judgement, in different ways. A hypothetical answer shows how a candidate reasons. A real example shows what they actually did, under pressure and with the constraints of the moment. Many interviews mix the two, and some add a technical assessment or an assessment centre.
What does a behavioural interview test, and what are its limits?
It tests competencies: teamwork, ownership, conflict handling, prioritisation. That is why it is closely related to the competency-based interview, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. A well-run version decides in advance which competencies matter for the role and asks every candidate comparable questions.
Its limits are real. It favours candidates with experience to draw on, which makes it harder for graduates and career changers, and it rewards people who tell stories well. Interviewers reduce that bias by accepting examples from studies, volunteering or side projects, and by checking facts later through a reference check.
