Behavioral Interviews & Company Principles for Big Tech
Oct 2, 2025
8 min
Behavioral interviews are often underestimated. Many candidates think that simply describing their professional background or explaining 'why that company' and 'why that role' is enough. In reality, these interviews go much deeper.
Behavioral Interviews: The Complete Guide to Standing Out
Behavioral interviews are often underestimated. Many candidates think that simply describing their professional background or explaining "why that company" and "why that role" is enough to get by.
Warning: In reality, these interviews go much deeper.
What Are They Really Looking For?
A behavioral interview is used to assess how you reason, how you express yourself, and how you present yourself. But also:
🎯 Personal Assessment
- • What your perceived strengths are
- • What your passion is for the role and company
- • How well you've researched the company, its values and culture
🤝 Cultural Fit
- • How much of a fit you are not just for the team, but for the entire organization
- • Ability to collaborate and adapt
- • Alignment with company values
💡 Important: This type of evaluation is done in particular by the person who decides whether to hire you — often the manager — and is not based only on what you've done, but on how you think and act in real situations.
Common Questions (and What They're Really Asking)
Typical Questions
- • "What are your 3 strengths?"
- • "What are your 3 areas for improvement?"
🎯 What they're really looking for: These questions are not there to hear a perfect or pre-packaged answer. They help understand how self-aware you are and whether you have a growth mindset.
❌ What to Avoid
- • Pre-packaged answers
- • Hiding your mistakes
- • Being too self-critical
- • Not showing learning ability
✅ What to Show
- • Self-awareness
- • Growth mindset
- • How you handle past mistakes
- • Ability to turn weaknesses into learning opportunities
🌟 The Qualities That Really Matter
Curiosity
Positive attitude
Mental flexibility
Desire to grow
"We all make mistakes: what makes the difference is the ability to learn and improve."
Company Principles Matter (More Than You Think)
Every great company, especially in the Big Tech world, has its own founding principles. They are much more than slogans: they represent the internal culture, expected behaviors and key qualities of team members.
📋 Example: Amazon Leadership Principles
Amazon has 16 well-documented Leadership Principles. These principles are used to assess not only technical skills, but also the cultural alignment of the candidate.
💡 Remember: In companies like these you are not hired by a single team, but by the company as a whole. It is therefore essential that you are a cultural fit, someone who can be moved from team to team bringing value everywhere.
What Are Hiring Managers Looking For?
More than just experience or technical talent, they look for:
🧠 Cognitive Skills
- • Critical thinking
- • Collaboration skills
- • Proactivity (don't be passive!)
🤝 Interpersonal Skills
- • Desire to excel without stepping on others
- • Being enjoyable to work with
- • Emotional intelligence
🎯 In short: They want to know if you are a smart, collaborative person who is enjoyable to work with.
Practical Tips for Preparation
📚 Pre-Interview Preparation
- • Study the company's principles (not by heart, but understanding their spirit)
- • Research the company's recent news and latest products
- • Prepare concrete examples (using the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result)
💬 During the Interview
- • Practice telling successes and failures honestly
- • Show humility, willingness to improve and curiosity
- • Remember: it's not an interrogation, it's a conversation to understand who you really are
STAR Method: Structure for Your Answers
🎯 How to Structure Your Answers
Situation
Describe the context and situation
Task
Explain your task or objective
Action
Describe the actions you took
Result
Explain the results achieved
Example Questions and Effective Answers
❓ Question: "Tell me about a time you failed"
✅ Effective Answer:
Situation: "During a development project, I underestimated the complexity of an integration with an external system."
Task: "I had to complete the integration within a week to meet the client's deadline."
Action: "I recognized the problem, asked for help from the senior team, and reorganized the work to focus on essential features."
Result: "We delivered a working MVP on time, and I learned the importance of more careful planning and proactive communication."
❓ Question: "What are your strengths?"
✅ Effective Answer:
"My three main strengths are: problem solving, collaboration and continuous learning."
"For problem solving, I've developed a systematic approach that allows me to break down complex problems into manageable parts."
"For collaboration, I firmly believe that the best results come from working together, and I've always tried to create a positive and productive work environment."
"The behavioral interview is not a memory test, but an opportunity to show who you really are and how you face professional challenges."
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Mistakes to Avoid
- • Answers that are too generic or vague
- • Not preparing concrete examples
- • Being too self-critical
- • Not showing learning ability
- • Not knowing the company and its values
✅ Best Practices
- • Use specific, quantifiable examples
- • Show growth and learning
- • Be authentic and honest
- • Demonstrate knowledge of the company
- • Maintain a positive attitude