Always follow the NSAR framework to answer behavioural questions:
Nugget: Summary of your story in 2 lines
Situation: Describe the context within which you performed a job or faced a challenge at work. For example, perhaps you were working on a group project, or you had a conflict with a coworker. This situation can be drawn from a work experience, a volunteer position, or any other relevant event. Be as specific as possible. Also, describe your responsibility in that situation. Perhaps you had to help your group complete a project within a tight deadline, resolve a conflict with a coworker, or hit a sales target.
Action: You then describe how you completed the task or endeavored to meet the challenge. Focus on what you did, rather than what your team, boss, or coworker did. (Tip: Instead of saying, “We did xyx,” say “I did xyz.”)
Result: Finally, explain the outcomes or results generated by the action taken. It may be helpful to emphasize what you accomplished, or what you learned.
Storytelling tips for behavioral questions
Remember that you are the hero of the story. Your actions should be clear. The content should be meaty. Don’t tell stories in which you are the side character.
Don’t keep saying ‘ummm’, ‘hmmm’. This can only be avoided through practice
What are the 3 keywords you want the interviewer to take away once you are done with your answer?
What emotions do you want the interviewer to feel? If you are answering stories of success the interviewer should feel happy and proud of your success. For that you need to incorporate pride in the story. It should feel like you are proud of yourself first. Only then the emotion transfer will take place
Sample Practice Questions:
Tell me about yourself.
Tell me about a time when you failed and took responsibility?
Tell me about a time you received difficult feedback from a manager or peer
Tell me about a time you needed to make a product tradeoff
Tell me about how you built a roadmap?
Tell me about a challenge you had with a coworker and how you handled it?
Your engg lead and UX lead disagree on the approach for you P0 item - how would you help the situation?
2 traits for a successful PM and how you rank against those?
Tell me about a project where you didn’t have enough resources? how did you deliver?
How do you resolve conflict among groups?
How do you manage scope when unexpected hurdles pop-up? close to the deadline?
How do you prioritize?
How do you lead engineers, designers, etc.?
How do you earn the trust of your team?
Tell me about the most complex project you handled? What was your role? What was the result? Follow-up questions:
Why did you make that decision?
What kind of data did you look at?
Tell me about a time when your project didn’t go as planned? Followup questions:
What could you have done better?
How did you manage the expectations of stakeholders?
Tell me about a time when you got creative? Why did you do for that solution? How did your stakeholders react?
Tell me about a time when you resolved conflict between stakeholders
Tell me about an occasion when you had to complete a task under a tight deadline.
Have you ever gone above and beyond the call of duty?
What do you do when a team member refuses to complete his or her quota of the work?