"What would you do if?.."

This situational question a lot like a behavioral question, but instead of drawing from your experience and sharing a story, it asks what you would do in a hypothetical setting. Think of it as a virtual try-out where you can demonstrate how you would work through different situations.

Interviewers use such questions to gauge how you would react, think, and behave in situations you will likely face in the role you are interviewing for.

What Are Situational Interview Questions?

Situational interview questions often sound similar to behavioral questions and also seek to understand your capabilities better. They are nearly always phrased using hypothetical situations and do not directly reference your past experience (although you may certainly draw upon your experiences to elucidate your points). Here are some examples of situational questions:

1. "What would you do if you cannot meet a client deadline?"
2. "How might you resolve an error you made while doing xyz?"
3. "If your team members have a conflict, what steps would you take it to resolve it?
4. "If your team has low morale, what might you do to boost it?"
5. "Suppose a client is not happy with your final deliverable. How would you handle this?"

Questions like these are designed to test your problem solving, awareness, thought-process, planning, experience, and strategy.

When formulating a great answer, you must describe an appropriate and impressive way to handle the situation and do so in a fashion the company would applaud.

Here is how we will do that...