Situational interview questions: examples and how to answer (UK)

A situational interview question describes a scenario, often one that could happen in the job, and asks what you would do. UK sources suggest showing your reasoning step by step, and several say to back it with a real, similar example where you have one. Evident's view: everything you say must be true, because the interviewer can ask follow-up questions about any of it.

Sources use the term loosely and differ on structure, so this guide shows where. It draws on UK recruiters, universities, public bodies and NHS guidance, listed under Sources, and includes scenario themes and a fictional worked example. It does not repeat our guides to competency-based questions and the STAR method, which cover questions about a real time in the past.

What a situational question is

Several UK pages draw the same simple line. Coursera's GB site says situational questions ask how you would react to a hypothetical situation in the future, while behavioural questions ask how you dealt with an actual situation in the past (Coursera). Reed puts it as "what would you do?" against "what did you do?", AMRL, a recruitment agency writing for employers, gives a matching pair, and Health Education England's guidance for NHS employers describes situational questions as future oriented and behavioural ones as past oriented (Reed, AMRL, Health Education England).

Interviews can mix both kinds. Health Education England says a single interview can contain situational and behavioural questions, Hays says there is often overlap between types, and targetjobs says competency-based interviews are not exclusively about past behaviour and can include hypothetical, scenario-based questions (Health Education England, Hays, targetjobs).

The labels are used loosely

Do not rely on the name alone. Indeed UK calls situational questions "also known as behavioural questions" and says the situation can be real or hypothetical, and Nottingham and PurpleCV also allow for real or hypothetical (Indeed UK, Nottingham, PurpleCV). Live Recruitment files "Can you tell me about a time when you..." under situational questions (Live Recruitment). Prospects describes competency-based interviews as also called structured, behavioural or situational (Prospects). Robert Walters, in hiring advice written for employers, uses "situational competency based" for questions about how a candidate would handle hypothetical scenarios related to the role (Robert Walters). Hays's own list of situational examples includes "Describe a mistake you've made at work", which asks about the past (Hays). WikiJob says situational questions are always purely hypothetical, then advises relating them to a similar past situation (WikiJob).

Evident's view: ignore the label and read the wording. "A time when" asks for something that happened. "What would you do" asks for your plan.

Why employers ask them

Sources give these reasons. None of them gives data on how often employers use these questions or how well they work.

• They test thinking on the spot. Hays says they discourage pre-packaged, scripted statements and let you show that you would take the lead or ask for help, stay calm and make sound choices. Coursera says they show how you think on your feet in situations with no clear-cut solution (Hays, Coursera).
• They test judgement. COPFS says they are designed to test judgement and decision making, and Nigel Wright adds judgement and problem solving (COPFS, Nigel Wright).
• They suit people with less experience. Nigel Wright says they suit more junior roles, where experience has not yet been gained, and Reed says its situational judgement questions test decision making without requiring direct experience of the situation (Nigel Wright, Reed).
• They check fit with the employer. targetjobs says scenario questions are designed to see how you think and whether that is in line with the company's values and strategy (targetjobs).

Where you may meet them

Reed uses the phrase situational judgement questions and says they are common in assessment centres and structured interviews, particularly for graduate schemes, public sector roles and jobs that need strong judgement (Reed). The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in Scotland lists them as one of the question types in its Success Profiles interviews, and Health Education England describes them within structured interviews for NHS values based recruitment (COPFS, Health Education England). Some graduate employers use video job simulations in strengths-based recruitment, in which you watch a scene, such as a client raising an objection, and say how you would respond, and Bright Network describes online blended assessments with scenario-based questions (targetjobs, Bright Network). Nigel Wright adds that role-play interviews are more likely for junior roles (Nigel Wright). targetjobs also lists hypothetical questions among the types of question in a graduate interview (targetjobs).

Evident's view: scenarios are often built from the job, and targetjobs says they are often very focused on the job role, so the advert is your best clue to which situations to prepare for (targetjobs). Our guide to tailoring a CV to a job description shows how to mark up an advert.

Ways to structure an answer

No source we read for situational questions treats one structure as the standard. This is what each recommends:

• STAR. Indeed UK, Coursera, Live Recruitment, WikiJob, PurpleCV and Nottingham recommend STAR for situational questions, though for Indeed UK, Live Recruitment and WikiJob the STAR story is a real past event, and only Coursera describes the Action as the steps you would take. COPFS suggests STAR in its general interview tips, which are about examples of past behaviour, and adds that you may also wish to consider how you would handle similar situations in future (Indeed UK, Coursera, Live Recruitment, WikiJob, PurpleCV, Nottingham, COPFS). For a hypothetical question, Coursera describes the Action as the concrete steps you would take and the Result as the projected outcome. PurpleCV also names CAR and SMART as alternatives. Our STAR method guide covers the method itself.
• Five reasoning steps. Sheffield suggests: identify the situation, analyse it, generate possible solutions, make a decision and plan your action. It adds that your approach and analytical thinking are assessed, and sometimes getting the right answer matters less than showing a logical approach (Sheffield).
• Think aloud. For situational judgement style questions, Reed says to talk through your reasoning, not to assume details you were not given, to consider more than one perspective and to explain why you prefer one approach (Reed).
• Play the scenario back. Career coach Meg Burton suggests staying calm, briefly repeating your understanding of the scenario and its key challenges, saying specifically how you would tackle it and which skills you would use, linking to what you know of the employer's values, and staying concise (Meg Burton).
• Tell the whole story. Indeed UK's page on hypothetical questions suggests telling a complete story, addressing the problem and then explaining how you dealt with it, covering every step, with each stage linked to the next. The page words this in the past tense and its next tip is "Link your experiences", so it may be advice to use a real example (Indeed UK).

Evident's view: these overlap, and a plain order that draws on all of them is:

1. Check. Make sure you know what is being asked and what matters most in the scenario.
2. Steps. Say what you would do first, then next, and why.
3. People. Say who you would tell, ask or involve.
4. Test. Say how you would know it had worked, or what you would do if it had not.
5. Evidence. If it is true, add a short real example of something similar. If it is not, say so.

None of the pages we read lists these five steps in this order.

Asking for more detail

Several sources say you may ask. targetjobs says you can ask questions or ask for more detail on the hypothetical, and to pick out the clues in a detailed scenario, such as what the client expected, why they are unhappy and who needs to know (targetjobs). Indeed UK says to ask for clarity or a repeat if you do not fully understand the question, and Reed says not to assume details the scenario does not give (Indeed UK, Reed). On rules questions, targetjobs says it is fine to reply that it would depend on the circumstances and ask for an example scenario (targetjobs). Evident's view: ask one or two focused questions, then commit to a plan. An answer made only of questions does not show your judgement.

Using real experience in a hypothetical answer

Several sources lean towards linking your plan to something you have really done, with conditions:

• WikiJob says the ideal approach is to relate the hypothetical situation to a similar one you have met, which can come from work, school or volunteering (WikiJob).
• targetjobs says to reinforce your skills by comparing the scenario with something similar you have handled successfully, and to give specific evidence where you can (targetjobs).
• Hays says, in the lead-in to its sample answer for a colleague's-mistake question, to draw on real experience of the situation if you have it, and otherwise to give a hypothetical approach. Meg Burton says to use a past example if it fits, and if not to explain your likely course of action and be honest that you have not met the situation (Hays, Meg Burton).
• PurpleCV suggests saying that the exact scenario has not happened to you but that there are similarities to a time when you faced something comparable, or imagining how you would handle it using common sense and partly relevant experience (PurpleCV).
• Coursera notes that a situational question can be answered with the same story you would give to a behavioural question (Coursera).

There is a counterpoint. Nigel Wright and Reed present these questions as useful where you lack direct experience, and a Skills for Care values-based interviewing pack, which is employer training material (its pages carry copyright notices from 2015 to 2019), says hypothetical questions should mostly be avoided in values-based interviews. It says they can help if a candidate is stuck, with the interviewer bringing the answer back to a real example as soon as possible (Nigel Wright, Reed, Skills for Care). If you are applying for care work, our guide to care assistant interview questions covers that setting.

This does not contradict our competency guide. Prospects warns against "I would usually..." when the question asks for a real time, and the wording tells you which kind you have been asked (Prospects). Evident's view: say which one you are doing. "Here is what I would do" and "here is something similar I did" are both fine. A plan presented as a memory, or a loosely related event stretched into a match, is not. PurpleCV goes further than the others and says it is acceptable to answer a give-me-an-example question with a hypothetical if you have no story (PurpleCV). Evident's view: do not do this when the question asks for a real time, as our competency guide explains.

Example scenarios, grouped by theme

These prompts are for practice. They were written by Evident, and some are adapted from questions printed on the pages in our sources list, so none is a quotation and none is a forecast. Employers choose theirs to match the job. The advice under each theme comes from the sources named, and where a publisher's own example answer is described we say so.

1. A disagreement with a colleague or manager

Practice prompts: A colleague disagrees with how you are doing a task. You work in a different way from a team member and it is slowing a project.

targetjobs says conflict questions hide others, such as whether you take offence or take sides, and that the recruiter wants to picture your likely response. Its example answers see things through the other person's eyes, ask open questions, discuss how to reconcile positions and then put measures in place so it does not happen again. It adds that claiming never to have met conflict sounds dishonest or head-in-the-sand (targetjobs). Indeed UK's sample answer stays professional, sets personal feelings aside and goes to the manager if the problem cannot be resolved, and Coursera's sample answer keeps the shared goal in view and, if needed, works separately and combines the work later (Indeed UK, Coursera).

2. Competing priorities and deadlines

Practice prompts: Two urgent tasks and time for one. A deadline is moved forward. Three people each want work done by the end of the day.

Indeed UK's page on conflicting priorities says to explain how you plan your work, how you adjust when something more urgent arrives and how you communicate and confirm key deadlines with your team leaders, and to keep the team informed (Indeed UK). Hays's sample answer lists tasks with their dates, ranks them by importance or urgency, reviews the list regularly and keeps multitasking to a minimum (Hays). Prospects includes three partners wanting work by 5pm among its law interview examples (Prospects). Evident's view: when two people say theirs is urgent, "I would ask who decides" is part of a plan only if you also say what you would do while you wait for the answer.

3. A difficult customer or client

Practice prompts: A customer says they have been given the wrong information twice. A client is unhappy with something that was not your fault.

targetjobs gives a list for a client complaint. It says recruiters will not like an answer that tells the client they are wrong, hands the problem straight to a manager, gives away a large refund before knowing the problem, avoids the issue, or says nothing can be done. It wants you to acknowledge the concern, find out what went wrong, work towards a resolution and know when to involve someone senior, and it says you can mention following policy or asking your manager (targetjobs). Coursera stresses staying calm and listening actively (Coursera).

4. A mistake, yours or a colleague's

Practice prompts: You realise an error of yours will affect a deadline. You notice a colleague's mistake and nobody else seems to have seen it.

For your own mistake, Coursera's sample answer tells everyone affected straight away, then looks for what can change to meet the deadline, including asking for help (Coursera). For a colleague's, Hays says not to "pass the buck", and its sample answer checks that it is right, follows any internal protocol, raises it calmly with the person and takes it to a supervisor if needed (Hays). The past-tense version of this question, "tell me about a mistake you made", is covered in our STAR method guide.

5. Ethics, rules and doing the right thing

Practice prompts: A client asks for something legal but morally questionable. A manager suggests skipping a check to save time. Your supervisor gives a client incorrect advice.

targetjobs says a "would you bend the rules" question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. It suggests asking for more context, explaining how you reached your view, considering whether there is a solution that avoids bending the rules, and researching the employer and any professional code of conduct (targetjobs). targetjobs files this question under strength-based interviews and says the answer should come from your instinct, so it may be asked in that style rather than as a scenario. Prospects says dilemma questions in law interviews test situational judgement and suggests reading the Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct as preparation (Prospects). Evident's view: if your answer is "it depends", say what it depends on and what you would do in each case.

6. Unclear instructions or an unfamiliar task

Practice prompts: You do not understand a work instruction. You are asked to do something you have never done.

Indeed UK's page on hypothetical questions lists how you would react if you did not understand a work instruction and new tasks in the role that you have not done before, its situational page lists being asked to perform a task you have never done before, and Nottingham lists the unfamiliar task as an example of a scenario question (Indeed UK hypothetical, Indeed UK situational, Nottingham). WikiJob's sample answer for a new task breaks it into manageable steps, researches it, talks to colleagues who have done it and checks the work before handing it in (WikiJob). Hays notes that these questions can let you show you would ask for help (Hays). Evident's view: name the specific thing you would ask, and who you would ask.

7. Not knowing the answer

Practice prompts: A customer asks something you cannot answer. You are asked in a meeting for a figure you do not have.

Reed lists a question about what to do when you do not know the answer to a customer's question among its typical customer service interview questions (Reed). In its section on knowledge and technical questions, Nottingham says it is better to say you do not know than to make something up, and that you can still show integrity and problem solving by explaining how you would find the information, for example by asking your line manager or checking the staff handbook (Nottingham). Evident's view: say how you would find out, roughly how soon, and what you would tell the person meanwhile, and avoid guessing.

Some hypotheticals are not workplace scenarios at all, such as which biscuit you would be. jobs.ac.uk says there is no right or wrong answer to those and that the interviewer wants your reasoning, and Reed says much the same about curveball questions (jobs.ac.uk, Reed).

A worked example: a first office job with no office experience

The advert, Priya and her evidence sheet below are invented for illustration, and the answer is an illustration, not a model answer to copy. We have not reused any of the sample answers printed on the pages we read.

Fictional advert: office assistant at Hartley and Moss, a small lettings and sales agency. Essential: a polite, clear manner with visitors and on the phone, accurate records, reliability, and the ability to prioritise. Desirable: experience of dealing with the public, paid or unpaid.

Fictional candidate: Priya. Priya finished her A-levels in June. Her evidence sheet says:

• Since January she has volunteered on Saturday mornings at a community food bank, booking in donations and updating the stock spreadsheet.
• In March two delivery vans arrived at the same time while she was part-way through updating the stock sheet. She greeted both drivers, told each roughly how long they would wait and asked the coordinator which to unload first. The coordinator chose the chilled delivery.
• Last summer she worked for six weeks at a cafe, mostly serving at the counter.
• She has never worked in an office and has no experience of answering a business phone line.
• She plays in a youth orchestra on Thursday evenings.

Evident's reading: the first version names qualities and gives no steps, so there is nothing for the interviewer to assess. The second follows the order above except for the Test step, which it leaves out. It checks who decides priority, says what happens to the visitor and the colleague in the meantime, and tells the manager. It then says plainly that this is an approach, and points to the nearest real event on the sheet. It does not claim the food bank was like an office. It keeps to one real example to stay short, and it leaves out the cafe job, although the counter work would also count as dealing with the public, which the advert lists as desirable, so a different question might call for it. If you use this approach, use only facts that are true for you.

Mistakes to avoid

• Passing the buck. Hays says a situational answer should not suggest you would hand the problem to someone else to absolve yourself (Hays).
• Telling the customer they are wrong, giving things away, or avoiding the issue. targetjobs lists these in its client complaint advice (targetjobs).
• A flat yes or no on a rules question. targetjobs says these cannot be answered that way (targetjobs).
• Jumping to conclusions. Reed says the worst thing is to jump to conclusions without considering the full situation or to fail to explain your thought process (Reed).
• Over-rehearsing, or not preparing at all. WikiJob says that assuming you cannot prepare leads to rambling, while a memorised answer will not impress the interviewer (WikiJob). AMRL, writing for employers, says candidates cannot fully prepare for these questions (AMRL). Evident's view: that is a reason to practise the shape of an answer rather than learn one.
• Good intentions with no steps. Evident's view: "I would stay calm and communicate" is not yet a plan. Say what you would do, in order.
• Presenting a plan as a memory. Evident's view: do not say "I did" about something you would do, and do not claim experience you lack. Meg Burton says to be honest that you have not met the situation, and PurpleCV suggests saying that the exact scenario has not happened to you (Meg Burton, PurpleCV).

Situational judgement tests are a different thing

Health Education England separates the two: in a situational interview the interviewer can probe your response, whereas a situational judgement test (SJT) has fixed response choices (Health Education England). Manchester and LSE describe an SJT as a test in which you choose or rank the most and least appropriate actions, and LSE says it typically lasts about 30 minutes (Manchester, LSE). Michael Page describes scenarios with several possible responses to rate or rank, most often used before the interview stage, on a page that shows no date (Michael Page). The Civil Service Judgement Test asks you to rate four actions per scenario as counterproductive, ineffective, fairly effective or effective, is not timed, and expects your own answers (GOV.UK). Reed uses the phrase "situational judgement questions" for interview questions too, so check your invitation for the format (Reed).

Advice for tests differs from advice for interviews. Manchester says the right answers are often not obvious and are shaped by the employer's values and the role, and that doing nothing is often not a good strategy. LSE suggests a rule of thumb of putting the business or customer first and the team a close second, and going with your first natural response (Manchester, LSE). These are one university's suggestions each, not rules. Evident's view: prepare for a test with the practice material the employer provides, and prepare for an interview by talking.

How to practise

• Meg Burton suggests asking someone to put a wide range of "what would you do if..." questions to you, to build the habit of thinking on your feet (Meg Burton).
• Reed says to talk through your reasoning aloud when you answer, so practise doing that, and WikiJob says to practise the shape of answers without memorising them word for word (Reed, WikiJob). PurpleCV suggests writing answers down and practising with a mentor (PurpleCV).
• Evident's method for building a set of practice scenarios from the advert:
  1. Underline the essential points in the advert and any skill it repeats.
  2. For each one, write one imagined scenario in which that skill would be tested, in one sentence.
  3. Answer each aloud in the order Check, Steps, People, Test, Evidence, and time yourself. No source we read gives a length for these answers, so stop once the steps and the test are said. For a past-event story, see the STAR method guide for timing.
  4. For each scenario, note one true experience that is similar, or write "none". Do not leave a gap unmarked.
  5. Check that any fact you use matches your CV.

Our mock interview questions guide has more to practise with, our guide to preparing for an AI interview covers practising with AI tools and where the evidence is thin, and our skills for a CV guide helps you find the true examples to point to. Related questions have their own guides: tell me about yourself and weaknesses.

FAQs

What are situational interview questions?

They describe a scenario, often one that could happen in the job, and ask what you would do. Coursera and Health Education England describe them as hypothetical and future oriented, and Reed describes them as questions that ask what you would do. Some UK pages use the term more loosely, so read the wording of the question itself.

How are they different from behavioural or competency questions?

Behavioural questions ask about something you actually did, often starting with a time when. Situational questions ask what you would do. Sources use competency questions mostly for the first kind but not always, so read the wording. Hays and Health Education England note that an interview can mix both, and targetjobs says competency-based interviews can include hypothetical questions.

Should I use the STAR method for situational questions?

Several UK sources recommend it, including Indeed UK, Coursera, WikiJob and Nottingham, though for Indeed UK and WikiJob the STAR story is a real past event. Sheffield suggests identifying the situation, analysing it, generating solutions, deciding and planning, and Reed suggests talking through your reasoning aloud. No source we read calls one structure the standard for these questions, so pick one order and keep your steps as the main part of the answer.

What if I have never faced the situation?

Meg Burton says to be honest that you have not met it and to explain your likely course of action, and PurpleCV suggests saying the exact scenario has not happened to you, naming any similarities with a time you faced something comparable, or imagining how you would handle it. Nigel Wright and Reed say these questions are useful where experience is limited. Evident's view: never describe a plan as something you did.

Can I ask questions before I answer?

targetjobs says you can ask questions or ask for more detail on the hypothetical. Indeed UK says to ask for clarity if you do not understand, and Reed says not to assume details you were not given. Evident's view: ask one or two focused questions, then commit to a plan.

Is a situational judgement test the same thing?

No. Health Education England says the difference is that in an interview the interviewer can probe your response, whereas a test has fixed choices. Manchester, LSE and GOV.UK describe tests where you rank or rate listed actions. Reed also uses the phrase for interview questions, so check your invitation for the format.

How Evident approaches this

Evident reads your CV and the job advert, then asks up to five targeted questions. It drafts wording only from your answers, and you approve it line by line. You can also try the CV scan.