Behavioural interview

A behavioural interview asks candidates to describe real past situations, on the idea that how someone acted before shows how they will act at work.

Also called: behavioural interview questions, behavior-based interview, STAR method

What behavioural interview means

A behavioural interview is an interview built around questions about what a candidate actually did in past situations. Questions usually start with "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example of...". The idea is that a real story tells you more than a promise about what someone would do.

Many employers use behavioural questions inside a structured interview: the same questions for every candidate, scored against a guide. They work for almost any job, from dishwasher to office manager, as long as the situations asked about match the real work.

Candidates are often taught the STAR method: describe the Situation, the Task, the Action they took and the Result. Knowing this helps you listen for the parts that are missing, usually the action.

How it works

Pick the skills the job needs most, from your job description. For each one, write a question that asks for a specific past example. For a server: "Tell me about a time a customer was upset about something that wasn't your fault. What did you do?" For a warehouse lead: "Tell me about a time you noticed a safety problem. What happened next?"

Listen for what the person did, not what "we" did or what they usually do. Use short follow-ups such as "What did you say?" or "How did it end?" Then score the answer against your guide: a strong answer is specific, shows the skill clearly and has a result.

Let candidates use examples from anywhere: school, volunteering, sports, caring for family or other jobs. Requiring the example to come from a paid job in Canada can unfairly screen out newcomers and young workers, and Ontario employers with 25 or more employees may not require Canadian experience in a job posting.

Keep the questions and follow-ups on the job. If a candidate's story mentions a protected personal matter, such as a pregnancy, a disability or a religious holiday, do not follow up on it. Human rights law in every province protects applicants from being treated differently on grounds like these. Steer back to what they did and score the skill.

Is it the same in every province?

Behavioural interviewing is a method, not a legal rule, so it is the same everywhere. The human rights limits on interview questions apply in every province and territory, and the list of protected grounds differs a little by province.

Example: A daycare asks about real situations

Leila runs a 14-person daycare in Winnipeg and is hiring an early childhood assistant. One question she asks every candidate is: "Tell me about a time you had to calm a child who was very upset. What did you do, and how did it end?"

One candidate, who has not worked in a daycare, describes helping her younger cousin through a hard day: what she noticed, the words she used, and how she checked in with the parent afterwards. Leila scores the answer a 4 out of 5 for its detail and good judgment, even though it did not come from a paid job.

Scored interview guides in Staffkin

Staffkin's interview guides include behavioural questions with 1 to 5 scoring guides, and you can compare scored candidates side by side.

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Questions about behavioural interview

What is an example of a behavioural interview question?

"Tell me about a time you had to deal with an unhappy customer. What did you do and what happened?" It asks for a real past event rather than a hypothetical.

What is the STAR method?

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result. Candidates use it to structure answers, and interviewers use it to check that an answer includes what the person actually did.

Is a behavioural interview fair to people with little work experience?

It can be, if you accept examples from school, volunteering, family life or sports, and score the skill shown rather than where it happened.

How is a behavioural question different from a situational question?

A behavioural question asks what you did in a real past situation. A situational question asks what you would do in a described future situation.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.