Who uses the terms behavioral and situational?
Hiring teams that run structured interviews use them to label the questions they write. The US Office of Personnel Management's guidance on structured interviews, checked October 27, 2026, describes both formats and gives an example of each.
OPM says behavioral questions "ask applicants to describe a past behavior." Situational questions "ask applicants to describe what they would do." It bases the behavioral format on the principle "that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior."
| Behavioral question | Situational question |
|---|---|
| Asks what you did in a past situation | Asks what you would do in a situation like one on the job |
| Example from OPM: "Describe a situation where you analyzed and interpreted information." | Example: "What would you do if you realized on Friday that Monday's deadline was gone?" |
How does the difference change your answer?
For example, a behavioral answer needs a real occasion with a result you can back up, which is what the STAR method is built for. A situational answer has no result to report. What you can offer is the action and the reasoning behind its order.
Where can you read more about each type?
The guide to behavioral interview questions groups them by competency, each with a worked answer. The guide to situational interview questions covers hypotheticals, including the harder versions managers get.