7 Types of Interview Questions (And How to Answer Each One)

Your CV got you the interview. Now the real work begins.

Most candidates prepare by rehearsing answers to a list of common questions. That's backwards. The smarter approach is to understand why interviewers ask what they ask — because once you recognise the question type, the structure of a strong answer becomes obvious.

Here are the 7 interview question types you'll encounter, what each one is testing, and how to handle them.

1. Behavioural Questions

What they sound like: "Tell me about a time when…", "Give me an example of…", "Describe a situation where…"

What they're testing: Past behaviour as a predictor of future behaviour. The interviewer wants evidence, not opinion.

How to answer: Use the STAR method — Situation, Task, Action, Result.

• ▸Situation: Set the context in one or two sentences
• ▸Task: What was your specific responsibility?
• ▸Action: What did you do? (Use "I", not "we")
• ▸Result: What was the measurable outcome?

The most common mistake is spending too long on the situation and rushing the result. Flip it: keep the setup brief and make the outcome concrete.

"Our deployment pipeline was failing 40% of builds. I audited the last 30 failures, found that 80% were caused by a single flaky integration test, rewrote it, and got the failure rate down to under 5% within a week."

That's a complete STAR answer in three sentences.

2. Situational Questions

What they sound like: "What would you do if…", "How would you handle…", "Imagine you're faced with…"

What they're testing: Judgement and problem-solving — how you think, not just what you've done.

How to answer: These are hypothetical, so you won't have a past example. Instead, walk through your reasoning out loud.

Structure your answer as: Assess → Prioritise → Act → Verify

• ▸What information would you gather first?
• ▸What are the competing priorities here?
• ▸What would you actually do?
• ▸How would you know it worked?

Interviewers aren't always looking for the "right" answer. They're watching whether you consider edge cases, ask clarifying questions, and reason logically under pressure.

3. Competency-Based Questions

What they sound like: "How would you rate your ability to…", "Can you demonstrate your experience with…", "Walk me through your approach to…"

What they're testing: Whether you have specific skills required for the role — leadership, stakeholder management, analytical thinking, etc.

How to answer: These overlap with behavioural questions but are more targeted. Prepare one strong example for each competency listed in the job description. Map your examples to the exact language used in the posting.

If the job spec says "manages ambiguity well," your answer should use the phrase "I thrive in situations with incomplete information" — not "I'm fine with uncertainty." Language matching matters.

4. Technical Questions

What they sound like: "How does X work?", "Write a function that…", "Walk me through this architecture", "What's wrong with this query?"

What they're testing: Domain knowledge and how you think through problems.

How to answer: Depth over breadth. If you're asked to explain something, explain it precisely — don't hedge with "it basically…" or "roughly speaking…". If you don't know, say so directly and describe how you'd find out.

For live coding or whiteboard problems:

• ▸Think aloud from the start
• ▸Ask about edge cases before writing a line
• ▸Propose a brute-force solution before optimising
• ▸Test your own answer with a simple example

Silence during a technical question reads as stuck. Narrating your reasoning reads as capable.

5. Motivational Questions

What they sound like: "Why do you want this role?", "What attracted you to our company?", "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", "Why are you leaving your current job?"

What they're testing: Fit, genuine interest, and whether you'll stay.

How to answer: Be specific. "I've admired your company for a long time" is the answer interviewers hear 30 times a day. It signals you didn't do your homework.

Strong motivational answers connect three things:

• ▸Something specific about this company (a product, a strategic direction, a problem they're solving)
• ▸A gap or growth area in your current situation
• ▸Why this role bridges the two

For "why are you leaving" — be honest, be brief, and pivot to the future. Never criticise your current employer. "I've learned a lot at X, but the scope I want isn't available there" is sufficient.

6. Strength and Weakness Questions

What they sound like: "What's your greatest strength?", "What are you working to improve?", "What would your manager say is your biggest development area?"

What they're testing: Self-awareness and honesty.

Strengths: Pick one specific strength directly relevant to the role, then prove it with evidence. Don't list three — one well-supported strength is more persuasive than three generic ones.

Weaknesses: The worst answers are disguised strengths ("I work too hard") or deflections ("I can't think of any"). Both make you seem evasive and low in self-awareness.

Pick a genuine weakness that:

• ▸Is real (you can describe a specific moment it cost you)
• ▸Is not a core requirement of this role
• ▸Has an active mitigation you're working on

"I used to struggle to push back on scope creep — I'd take on extra work rather than have a difficult conversation. I've been working on it deliberately: I now document scope agreements in writing at the start of every project, which has made those conversations much easier."

That answer shows honesty, self-awareness, and that you're improving. That's all they're looking for.

7. Culture-Fit and Values Questions

What they sound like: "How do you handle feedback?", "How do you work in a team?", "What kind of manager do you work best with?", "Describe your ideal work environment."

What they're testing: Whether you'll function well in their specific team and culture.

How to answer: Do your research. Read their careers page, LinkedIn posts, and Glassdoor reviews. What values do they emphasise? Autonomy? Collaboration? Speed? Structure?

Give answers that match what you genuinely value — but frame them in language that resonates with their stated culture. If they value autonomy, talk about ownership. If they value collaboration, talk about cross-functional work.

Don't say what you think they want to hear if it's not true — culture mismatches surface fast once you're in the role.

How to Prepare

You don't need to memorise 50 answers. You need a bank of 8–10 strong examples from your career that you can flex across question types.

For each example, know:

• ▸The context and your specific role
• ▸The decision or action you took and why
• ▸The measurable result
• ▸What you'd do differently

That same example — say, leading a project through a difficult pivot — can answer a behavioural question ("tell me about a time you managed conflict"), a situational question ("what would you do if stakeholders disagreed on direction"), and a competency question ("demonstrate your leadership skills").

Flexible examples beat rigid scripts.

The Question Behind Every Question

Whatever type of interview question you're facing, the interviewer is ultimately asking one of three things:

• ▸Can you do this job? (technical + competency questions)
• ▸Will you do this job? (motivational + values questions)
• ▸Will you fit in? (behavioural + culture questions)

Structure every answer to address at least one of these. The candidates who get offers don't just answer the literal question — they use each answer as evidence for why they're the right hire.

Ready to practise? Our Interview Prep tool generates personalised questions from your CV and the job description — so you rehearse exactly what you'll be asked.