Know what interviewers assess

Behavioral interviews ask about real situations you have handled: “Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate.” The premise is that past behavior predicts future behavior. Interviewers use a rubric of competencies and look for specific evidence - what you did, why, and what happened - rather than opinions about what you would do.

• Ownership: taking responsibility for outcomes beyond your assigned tasks.
• Collaboration and conflict: working through disagreements respectfully and productively.
• Impact: delivering results that mattered, ideally with measurable outcomes.
• Dealing with ambiguity: making progress when requirements are unclear.
• Growth: learning from failure and feedback.
• Leadership and influence: guiding decisions and mentoring others, with or without authority.

Many companies publish their values or leadership principles. Interviewers map your answers to them, so read them and prepare stories that demonstrate each.

The scope expected depends on the level. A junior engineer’s story about owning a feature end to end can be strong; a senior engineer is expected to show influence across teams, technical direction, and mentoring. When choosing stories, ask: does this show the scope of the role I want?