50+ Software Engineering Behavioral Questions to Identify Top Talent

simple interview - Software Engineering Behavioral Questions

Nov 3, 2025

Discover the most common software engineering behavioral questions and answers to help you prepare confidently for technical interviews.

You get a strong score on a coding task, but the same engineer struggles in team discussions. Software engineering behavioral questions bridge that gap by probing problem-solving, communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and culture fit through situational and competency-based techniques. This article shows how to write structured behavioral interviews, use the STAR method, and score answers with clear rubrics so you can confidently identify and hire top-performing software engineers through insightful, well-structured behavioral interviews that reveal proper skills, mindset, and team fit.

To help you reach that goal, Noxx's AI recruiter transforms best practices into ready-to-use interview guides, suggested behavioral questions, scoring rubrics, and concise candidate summaries, enabling you to evaluate skills, mindset, and team fit more efficiently and with less bias.

50+ Software Engineering Behavioral Questions to Ask Candidates
13 General Tips When Setting in Behavioral Interviews
Upload a Job and Get 10 Candidates within 7 Days with Noxx (No Risk, No Upfront Fees)

Summary

Grouping behavioral questions by competency enhances signal, and the article provides a bank of over 50 software engineering behavioral prompts organized to reveal thinking, collaboration, and execution.
Use the STAR framework as a live checklist, scoring each of its four elements (Situation, Task, Action, Result) as discrete evidence and stopping for one precise follow-up when a story skips a piece.
Take notes that survive hiring cycles with a one-page template containing three short fields, capturing verbatim lines and time-stamped bullets so reviewers can replay key moments.
Regular calibration is essential to maintain consistent ratings. We recommend 60- to 90-minute calibration sessions each quarter, along with five-minute refreshes for rotated interviewers.
Require independent write-ups before panel discussion, use an evidence handshake, and run a mandatory 10-minute consolidation after interviews, anchored by three example performances per competency to align ratings.
Balance technical depth and behavioral insight by segmenting interviews, for example, a focused technical probe followed by two STAR stories, which link craft to delivery and measurable impact.
Noxx's AI recruiter addresses this by turning best practices into ready-to-use interview guides, scoring rubrics, and concise candidate summaries that help teams standardize evaluation and reduce subjectivity.

50+ Software Engineering Behavioral Questions to Ask Candidates

Behavioral questions should be grouped by the competency you want to observe, and each group should include prompts that reveal how a candidate thinks, collaborates, and executes under real constraints. Below is organized every common behavioral prompt you supplied into practical competency groups, explaining what each group lets you evaluate, and listing the exact questions interviewers can ask.

1. Fit and Motivation: What Does This Person Really Want?

Fit questions reveal whether a candidate’s motives, product intuition, and career trajectory align with the role and team priorities. Look for concrete connections between past choices and future intent.

“So tell me about yourself.”
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Tell me something about yourself and why you'd be a good fit for the position.”
“Why do you want to work here?”
“Why do you want to work for X company?”
“Why do you want to leave your current/last company?”
“What are you looking for in your next role?”
“Tell me why you will be a good fit for the position.”
“Why are you interested in this opportunity?”
“What are your salary expectations?”
“What excites you about the company?”
“What are you excited about?”
“What is something that you don't want from your last internship/job?”

2. Problem Solving and Technical Judgment: How Do They Break Down Hard Problems?

Watch for fast, precise diagnosis, an ordered tradeoff analysis, and whether the candidate admits uncertainty and tests assumptions. These questions show reasoning more than raw knowledge.

“What was the most difficult bug that you fixed in the past 6 months?”
“What is the most challenging aspect of your current project?”
“What is the most difficult bug that you fixed in the past 6 months?” (duplicate phrasing retained where provided)
“How do you tackle challenges? Name a difficult challenge you faced while working on a project, how you overcame it, and what you learned.”
“State an experience about how you solved a technical problem. Be specific about the diagnosis and process.”
“What is the hardest technical problem you have run into?”
“How did you solve it?”
“Tell me about a challenge you faced recently in your role. How did you tackle it? What was the outcome?”
“Take me through a product you launched from start to end.”
“Explain a project that you worked on recently.”
“Explain me your toughest project and the working architecture.”
“Talk about a project you are most passionate about, or one where you did your best work.”
“Talk about your favorite project.”
“What are the most interesting projects you have worked on and how might they be relevant to this company's environment?”
“What is the most challenging project in or out of school that you have worked on in the last 6 months.”

3. Collaboration, Teamwork, and Conflict Resolution: Can They Keep the Team Productive?

What this demonstrates is whether the candidate strikes a balance between advocacy and empathy, and whether they maintain morale while advancing work. Real conflict answers are messy; watch for perspective-taking.

“Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker.”
“Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with your manager.”
“Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a co-worker.” (duplicate retained)
“Tell me about a time in which you had a conflict and needed to influence somebody else.”
“Describe a time where you had to resolve a conflict.”
“How did you deal with difficult coworkers? Think about specific instances where you resolved conflicts.”
“How did you win over the difficult employees?”
“What do you think of Airbnb?” (In product/culture fit contexts, this can reveal a collaborative perspective.)
“How did you work with senior management on large projects as well as multiple internal teams?”
“Tell me about a time you were uncomfortable and how you dealt with it.” (also linked to adaptability)

4. Communication and Influence: Can They Translate Work Across Audiences?

Engineering output only scales when it can be communicated to product, design, or nontechnical partners. Look for audience-mindset and structured storytelling.

“Explain a project that you worked on recently.”
“Explain to me your toughest project and the working architecture.”
“What does your best day of work look like?”
“If this were your first annual review with our company, what would I be telling you right now?”
“Tell me about a time you needed information from someone who wasn't responsive. What did you do?”
“Tell me about a problem you've had getting along with a work associate.”
“Give me an example of a time-management skill you've learned and applied at work.” (communication about tradeoffs)
“Tell me about a time you needed information from someone who wasn't responsive.” (duplicate retained)
“Tell me about a time you had to give someone terrible news.”
“Share one of your trips with us.” (Airbnb; reveals narrative skill and empathy for users)
“Name a situation where you were impressed by a company's customer service.”

5. Leadership, Initiative, and Strategic Thinking: Do They Create Direction and Follow Through?

What to listen for are project selection logic, stakeholder alignment, and how they measure impact. Leadership comes in small acts, not job titles.

“What would you hope to achieve in the first six months after being hired?”
“If you were in charge of picking projects for Palantir, what problem would you try to solve?”
“What is something 90% of people disagree with you about?”
“What are your three strengths and three weaknesses?”
“What would your manager say about you?”
“What are some of the best and worst things about your current company?”
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
“Where do you want to be in five years?”
“If you were in charge of picking projects for Palantir, what problem would you try to solve?” (duplicate retained)
“What would you hope to achieve in the first six months after being hired?” (duplicate retained)

6. Time Management, Resilience, and Delivery: Can They Ship Predictably Under Pressure?

What the questions reveal is prioritization, escalation discipline, and how the candidate balances speed with quality. Concrete timelines and constraints are the signal.

“Tell me about a time you met a tight deadline.”
“How do you deal with a failed deadline?
“Tell me about a time you needed to persevere at for multiple months.”
Original phrasing: "What is something you had to persevere at for multiple months?")
“What is something you had to persevere at for multiple months?”
“Tell me about a time your work responsibilities got a little overwhelming. What did you do?”
“Time management has become a necessary factor in productivity. Give an example of a time-management skill you've learned and applied at work.”
“When we need to measure time management, which metrics do we watch?” (implied by context; used to probe evidence)

7. Learning, Adaptability, and Humility: Do They Improve With Feedback?

This matters because a candidate who reflects and changes is safe to scale with. Ask for specific feedback they received and how they applied it.

“Tell me about a weakness you have.”
“What is the most constructive feedback you have received in your career?”
“How have you handled criticism of your work?”
“What aspects of your work are most often criticized?”
“What is something new that you can teach your interviewer in a few minutes?”
“Tell me about a recent failure and what you learned from the experience,”
“What is something you had to persevere at for multiple months?” (appears again where learning overlaps with resilience)

8. Product Empathy or Domain Fit: Can They Speak to Users and Build Appropriate Solutions?

What interviewers learn is whether the candidate frames technical choices in terms of user impact, not just elegance.

“Imagine it is your first day here at the company. What do you want to work on? What features would you improve on?”
“What are the most interesting projects you have worked on and how might they be relevant to this company's environment?”
“What does 'belong anywhere' mean to you?” (Airbnb)
“What large problems in the world would you solve today?” (Airbnb)
“Tell me about why you want to work here.” (Airbnb phrasing)
“What part of our mission resonates the most with you?” (Airbnb)
“What's something you'd like to remove from the Airbnb experience?
“How does Airbnb impact our guests and hosts?”
“What is something new that you can teach your interviewer in a few minutes?” (product empathy when the candidate teaches feature thinking)

9. Culture Fit With Quirky or Humanizing Prompts: Revealing Thought Patterns

Use them for unusual prompts to expose creativity, humility, and how a candidate reasons under unclear constraints.

“If you had an unlimited budget and you could buy one gift for one person, what would you buy and who would you buy it for?”
“If you had an unlimited budget and you could go somewhere, where would you go?”
“What is the best gift you have ever given or received?”
“If you were a gerbil, which gerbil would you be?”
“Describe Palantir to your grandmother.”
“Tell me the story of how you became who you are today and what made you apply to Palantir.”
“What was the most fun thing you did recently?”

10. Company- or Role-Specific Variants You Can Borrow As-Is

Use these when you want a question that aligns with a company's mindset, or when you want to assess cultural fit against a known benchmark.

Airbnb questions:

“What does 'belong anywhere' mean to you?”
“What large problems in the world would you solve today?”
“Why do you like Airbnb?”
“If you had an unlimited budget and you could buy one gift for one person, what would you buy and who would you buy it for?”
“If you had an unlimited budget and you could go somewhere, where would you go?”
“Share one of your trips with us.”
“What is the most challenging project in or out of school that you have worked on in the last 6 months.”
“What is something that you don't want from your last internship/job?”
“Give me an example of when you've been a good host.”
“What's something you'd like to remove from the Airbnb experience?”
“What is something new that you can teach your interviewer in a few minutes?”
“Tell me about why you want to work here.”
“What is the best gift you have ever given or received?”
“Tell me about a time you were uncomfortable and how you dealt with it.”
“Explain a project that you worked on recently.”
“What do you think of Airbnb?”
“Tell me something about yourself and why you'd be a good fit for the position.”
“Name a situation where you were impressed by a company's customer service.”
“How did you work with senior management on large projects as well as multiple internal teams?”
“Tell me about a time you had to give someone terrible news.”
“If you were a gerbil, which gerbil would you be?”
“What excites you about the company?”
“How does Airbnb impact our guests and hosts?”
“What part of our mission resonates the most with you?”

Amazon questions:

“How do you deal with a failed deadline?”
“Why do you want to work for Amazon?”
“Tell me about a situation where you had a conflict with a teammate.”
“In your professional experience have you worked on something without getting approval from your manager?”
“Tell me a situation where you would have done something differently from what you actually did.”
“What is the most exceedingly bad misstep you've made at any point?”
“Describe what Human Resources means to you.”
“How would you improve Amazon's website?”

ByteDance questions:

“What do you know about <role> and why?”
“Take me through a product you launched from start to end.”
“What's the biggest achievement in your previous projects?”
“Tell me about a recent failure and what you learned from the experience.”
“Why do you want to work at ByteDance?”
“What makes you a good fit for this position?”
“What excites you about the role?”

Dropbox questions:

“Talk about your favorite project.”
“If you were hired here what would you do?”
“State an experience about how you solved a technical problem. Be specific about the diagnosis and process.”

Hired questions

“Tell me about yourself.”
“What is your biggest strength and area of growth?”
“Why are you interested in this opportunity?”
“What are your salary expectations?”
“Why are you looking to leave your current company?”
“Tell me about a time your work responsibilities got a little overwhelming. What did you do?”
“Give me an example of a time when you had a difference of opinion with a team member. How did you handle that?”
“Tell me about a challenge you faced recently in your role. How did you tackle it? What was the outcome?”
“Where do you want to be in five years?”
“Tell me about a time you needed information from someone who wasn't responsive. What did you do?”

Palantir questions:

“What is something 90% of people disagree with you about?”
“What is broken around you?”
“How do you deal with difficult coworkers? Think about specific instances where you resolved conflicts.”
“How did you win over the difficult employees?”
“Tell me about an analytical problem that you have worked on in the past.”
“What are your three strengths and three weaknesses?”
“If you were in charge of picking projects for Palantir, what problem would you try to solve?”
“What are some of the best and worst things about your current company?”
“What would your manager say about you?”
“Describe Palantir to your grandmother.”
“Teach me something you've learned.”
“Tell me a time when you predicted something.”
“If your supervisors were to rate you on a scale of 1-10, what would they rate you?”
“What was the most fun thing you did recently?”
“Tell me the story of how you became who you are today and what made you apply to Palantir.”

Slack questions:

“Tell me something about your internship.”
“Why do you want to join Slack?”
“Tell me about your past projects.”
“Explain me your toughest project and the working architecture.”
“Apart from technical knowledge, what did you learn during your internship?”
“If someone has a different viewpoint to do a project like different programming language, how would handle this situation?”
“What are your most interesting subjects and why?”
“Did you find any bugs in Slack?”
“What is your favorite feature and why?”

Stack Overflow questions:

“What have you built?”
“What is the hardest technical problem you have run into?”
“How did you solve it?”
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
“Why do you want to work here?”
“How do you handle disagreements with co-workers?”

13 General Tips When Setting in Behavioral Interviews

Behavioral interviewing succeeds when interviewers treat it as a disciplined observation exercise, not a friendly chat. You can achieve reliable and fair hiring decisions by listening closely, taking structured notes tied to a rubric, and making independent judgments before group discussions.

What Is the STAR Framework and How Should It Shape Your Listening?

STAR gives you a predictable map to turn stories into signal:

Situation
Task
Action
Result

Use it as a live checklist while listening. Mark the situation and constraints first, then flag the candidate’s specific responsibilities, the steps they executed, and the outcomes they measured. If a story skips a piece, stop and ask one precise follow-up to fill that gap. Treat each STAR element as evidence you can score against a single competency, so later notes map directly to rubric items.

How Do I Take Notes That Survive a Busy Hiring Cycle?

Create a one-page template for every interview with three short fields:

Evidence (quotes or timestamps)
Inferred skill (one line)
Impact (metric or outcome)

Write verbatim lines for one or two moments that illustrate judgment or tradeoffs, then summarize. Use short, time-stamped bullets so you can replay the moment in your head, and the panel can verify what was heard. Think of your notes as an audit trail. They must show how you reached a rating, not just the rating itself.

How Do You Avoid Bias While Staying Pragmatic?

The familiar approach is to rely on gut impressions because it’s fast and feels efficient, but that’s where subjectivity sneaks in. Force discipline:

Score after the interview, not during
Require two specific behaviors that justify each high rating
Run short calibration sessions every 30 days so anchors align across interviewers.

When unsure, use constraint-based checks if the role demands shipping under ambiguity, downweight charisma, and upweight examples where the candidate set measurable priorities and adapted under shifting constraints.

What Makes a Meaningful Follow-Up Question?

Ask for tradeoffs, not rehearsals. When a candidate describes a decision, ask, "What did you decide not to do and why?" or "How did you measure success a month later?" Timebox the probe to one focused thread so you can get depth without derailing the plan. A strong follow-up either reveals repeatable judgment, exposes a knowledge gap you care about, or converts narrative into measurable impact.

How Should You Balance Technical Depth With Behavioral Insight?

Allocate the interview into clear segments and stick to them; for example, a focused technical probe, followed by two STAR stories that test execution and collaboration. If the role is execution-heavy, let technical questions test design tradeoffs rather than trivia. When a technical story appears, pull the behavioral thread. Ask who owned testing, how cross-team tradeoffs were negotiated, and what they changed after failure. That links craft to delivery, which is the real signal.

How Do Interviewers Collaborate Without Collapsing Into Groupthink?

Require independent write-ups before any panel discussion, then use the debrief to reconcile evidence, not opinions. Run a quick "evidence handshake". Each interviewer reads one verbatim quote that shaped their score. If scores diverge, probe which STAR elements are missing or overcounted. Over three hiring cycles, teams that made this ritual nonoptional reported a tangible reduction in contradictory feedback and faster consensus on finalists.

When Is It Worth Investing More Time Up Front?

Designing a robust bank of prompts and rubrics takes effort, and that investment pays off as volume grows, which is precisely why 2+ hours to build is a realistic planning note for teams building repeatable interviews. The point is not to create perfect questions at first; it is to create reproducible scoring and a predictable interview flow you can refine.

What Common Emotional Friction Should You Plan For?

It’s exhausting when two interviewers walk out of the same conversation with opposite impressions. That pattern appears across early-stage startups and distributed squads:

Interviewer style diverges
The signal gets lost
Good candidates evaporate between rounds

Acknowledge that feeling, then use short, enforceable rules to neutralize it, such as same core prompts every round, a shared rubric, and a mandatory 10-minute consolidation immediately after the interview.

How Do You Calibrate Ratings So They Mean the Same Thing Across Interviewers?

Pick three anchor examples per competency that illustrate low, medium, and high performance, and record short clips or written excerpts when possible. Review those anchors in a single 60- to 90-minute calibration session at the start of each quarter. If you rotate interviewers, add a five-minute refresh before their first interview that week, so anchors stay fresh and scoring remains consistent.

How Do You Set Expectations With Candidates While Protecting Rhythm and Fairness?

Start every interview with a 60-second framing of what you will ask, which competencies you are assessing, and the time remaining. That transparency focuses answers and reduces rambling, which actually makes evidence collection easier. End by telling them when you will follow up and what the next step will evaluate, so everyone leaves with a shared timeline and the panel can compare like with like.

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