Behavioral Interview Prep: 30‑Minute Hiring Manager Conversation (Software Engineer)

Context

You are preparing for an onsite hiring manager interview focused on behavioral and leadership competencies for a Software Engineer role. In a 30‑minute conversation, be ready with concise, evidence‑backed responses.

Prompts to Prepare

1. Why this team and role, and how your experience maps to the job’s top priorities?
2. Walk through a recent project with measurable impact: your goals, constraints, decisions, and results.
3. Describe a challenging cross‑team collaboration or conflict: what you did, tradeoffs, and outcomes.
4. How you handle ambiguity, prioritize work, and communicate status/risks.
5. What you look for in a manager and team culture.

Assume you should keep each response to about 60–90 seconds, quantify impact where possible, and highlight your decision‑making process and stakeholder management.