What type of interview questions asks about how past situations were handled?

The correct answer is behavioral because behavioral interview questions specifically focus on how candidates have handled past situations, often using the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. These questions typically begin with prompts such as "Can you tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example of..." and require the candidate to draw from their experiences to illustrate their skills, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.

Behavioral questions allow interviewers to assess a candidate's competencies and cultural fit based on real-life scenarios rather than hypothetical situations. This method provides insight into how the candidate reacted to challenges, worked in teams, managed conflicts, or demonstrated leadership, helping employers gauge their potential performance in similar situations in the future.

Other types of questions, such as traditional, situational, and hypothetical, serve different purposes: traditional questions often focus on general qualifications, situational questions pose hypothetical scenarios to assess problem-solving skills in a forward-looking context, and hypothetical questions require candidates to think on their feet about potential future situations rather than provide evidence from their past experiences.