What is the difference between technical and behavioral interview questions?

Technical and behavioral interview questions are two distinct aspects of the hiring process in tech, each focusing on different skill sets. Here’s a breakdown of the differences:

Purpose and Focus

Technical Interview Questions

• Purpose: Assess your technical knowledge, coding skills, and problem-solving ability.
• Focus: The emphasis is on how well you can solve programming problems, design systems, or demonstrate domain expertise.
• Example: "Write a function to reverse a linked list." or "How would you design a scalable chat application?"

Behavioral Interview Questions

• Purpose: Evaluate your soft skills, teamwork, and ability to handle real-world situations.
• Focus: The emphasis is on your past experiences and how you approach challenges, collaborate, and align with the company’s culture.
• Example: "Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a teammate and how you resolved it." or "How do you handle tight deadlines?"

Assessment Criteria

Technical

• Knowledge of programming languages, algorithms, and data structures.
• Ability to design and optimize systems.
• Problem-solving speed and accuracy.

Behavioral

• Communication and interpersonal skills.
• Adaptability, leadership, and teamwork.
• Emotional intelligence and cultural fit.

Preparation Strategy

Technical

• Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank.
• Study algorithms, data structures, and system design concepts.
• Brush up on domain-specific knowledge, such as database design or networking.

Behavioral

• Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure answers.
• Reflect on past experiences where you demonstrated leadership, conflict resolution, or problem-solving.
• Research the company’s values to tailor responses to their culture.

Recommended Resources

• For Technical Interviews:

  • Grokking the Coding Interview: Patterns for Coding Questions
  • Grokking System Design Fundamentals

• For Behavioral Interviews:

  • Grokking Modern Behavioral Interview to prepare impactful stories and responses for behavioral questions.

Both technical and behavioral interviews are equally important in assessing your overall suitability for a role, so excelling in both is key to landing the job.