Situational Interviews

Situational Interviews

16 January 2019 by Justin Rush

Situational Interviews:

In this style of interview, the interviewer gives a hypothetical situation to which the candidate is expected to explain how they would handle the situation.

For example, in Situational Interviews, a candidate applying for a sales based role could be asked to demonstrate selling an item to the interviewer. The interviewer may even pretend to be a difficult customer to see how the candidate would handle the situation. Usually beginning with “describe a” or “explain how”

Examples of situational skills that could be asked could include:

  • Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with a difficult colleague.
  • Describe a situation where you needed to persuade someone to accept your point of view or convince them to change something.
  • Describe a mistake you’ve made professionally.

Key Features

This style of an interview can replace the behavioural interview and is more likely to be used on junior candidates. It can also be used in addition to other interview styles to help enhance the process and help weed out the perfect candidate. Candidates would find this style of interview useful to demonstrate their skills and talents.

For more information regarding Situational Interview, styles contact the Abacus Careers Team on 028 9031 3157 |  info@abacus.careers


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