What to do Instead of Asking Hypothetical Interview Questions

TL;DR: Hypothetical interview questions let candidates imagine how they’ll perform. In contrast, behavioral questions make them show who they’ve been. Interview questions should focus on the results the job needs to produce and ask for real examples of when the candidate delivered them.

The best interview questions come from the results the job needs to produce. Starting there, asking candidates to walk you through real examples from their history will replace rehearsed answers. I say this because, while most hiring managers are excellent at their jobs, hiring and interviewing aren’t part of their full-time job. So when a role opens and you ask “How would you handle a difficult client” those questions feel useful but don’t tell you whether someone is right for the role.

This is what to do instead of asking hypothetical questions.

Why Hypothetical Questions Don’t Produce Answers

A hypothetical question asks candidates to predict their own behavior. Questions like, “How would you handle…” can invite the ideal answer, but it’s theoretical. A candidate well equipped for interviewing might say exactly what you want to hear, but it may not be the reality.

In comparison, behavioral questions work differently. Questions like, “Give me an example of when you…” forces the candidate to find something that has already happened and how they actually handled the situation. It’s difficult to make up a story with real details, real people, and real results.

In fact, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) found that behavioral questions show higher validity for professional and managerial work. It doesn’t mean hypotheticals shouldn’t be asked, but just don’t make them the core of the interview. Focus on what someone has done, not what they hypothetically would do.

Three Steps to Writing Behavioral Questions

Step 1: Start With The 80% Rule

Before you write a question, ask: What will this person spend 80% of their work week doing? Note: every job has one-off tasks, but those aren’t what define success. Focus on the main tasks. What do they spend most of their time doing?

When you know what the 80% looks like, you know what to ask about. This will help guide the interview away from only resume-related questions and hypotheticals.

Step 2: Narrow the Job to Five Key Results

Next, reduce the job to roughly five key results. These should be outcomes you’ll use to evaluate performance. 

Hitting a goal like “increase sales by 30% this year,” the salesperson would prospect, follow up, negotiate, and build relationships. That’s all rolled into the one result.

Good key results are:

• Specific: “Growing North East territory sales by 20%” instead of “increase sales”
• Measurable: “Cut turnaround from 5 days to 2,” not “improve response times”
• Agreed on: “Everyone signs off on the five results before the first interview,” not “we’ll figure out what we need once we hire the person”

Step 3: Turn Results Into “Give Me an Example of When…”

Now that you know the key results of the 80%, turn it into an interview question. The formula is simple: “Give me an example of when you…” plus a result.

Say one key result is to grow sales 20% by expanding from New England to the Midwest. Instead of asking “How would you approach a new territory” ask:

“Give me an example of the biggest sales expansion you’ve led. What was your part?”

The follow the natural conversation:

1. What was the percentage of growth?
2. Did you create the plan or implement someone else’s?
3. What resources did you use?
4. What would you do differently?

See how easily one question becomes three, four, or even more? Now the candidate is talking about something they’ve actually done, which is far more revealing.

Now Put it All Together

Hypothetical questions show you how a candidate imagines they’d perform. Behavioral questions show you how they actually have. Start with the 80% of the work week, narrow the role to five key results, and turn each one into “Give me an example of when…”

If you want the full step-by-step process, from defining the role to onboarding, download my free guide: Identifying and Engaging the Best Talent for Your Business

I’m Tricia Neves, a Talent Analyst and Optimization Specialist with 28 years of experience. I’ve personally assessed 3,500+ individuals and trained companies to read and administer 16,500+ assessments. I use TTI Success Insights’ psychometric tools, built on more than 30 years of research and insights gathered from over 35 million assessments worldwide.