Situational interview questions place you in a hypothetical future scenario to see how you would react. Unlike behavioral questions that ask what you did, situational questions ask what you would do. Understanding how situational questions work is key to demonstrating your judgment and problem-solving potential.

The Core Concept: Assessing Future Judgment

These hypothetical interview questions are designed to evaluate:

• Your thought process: How do you approach a problem?
• Your problem-solving skills: Can you develop a logical plan of action?
• Your alignment with company values: Does your proposed solution fit the company’s culture and ethics?

An interviewer might ask, “What would you do if a key team member on your project suddenly quit right before a major deadline?”

They aren’t looking for a single “right” answer. They want to see you think through the problem logically:

1. Assess the immediate impact.
2. Communicate with stakeholders.
3. Re-delegate tasks and re-prioritize.
4. Develop a short-term and long-term plan.

Structuring Your Answer

Even without a past example, a structured answer is best. You can adapt the STAR method or follow a simple Problem/Action/Result framework. Explain the steps you would take and, most importantly, the reasoning behind them.

To see how these are structured, explore our guide to Common Situational Question Frameworks. You can also learn how to apply familiar techniques in new ways by reading Adapting STAR for Different Question Types .

This article is a component of our guide on Situational vs. Behavioral Interview Questions .