Answer frameworks for every question type

Behavioural: STAR

Use for "tell me about a time" questions. Situation, Task, Action, Result, with most of the time on your actions.

Technical: Answer, Explain, Example, Limits

1. Step 1

   Answer

   Give the direct answer first.

2. Step 2

   Explain

   Say how or why, in plain words before jargon.

3. Step 3

   Example

   Anchor it in something you have really done.

4. Step 4

   Limits

   Say when it would not be the right choice.

Case: Frame, Structure, Analyse, Recommend

1. Step 1

   Frame

   Restate the goal and ask what success and the constraints are.

2. Step 2

   Structure

   Split the problem into separate parts and say what you will check first.

3. Step 3

   Analyse

   Reason aloud, state assumptions, and say what data would change your mind.

4. Step 4

   Recommend

   Give a clear recommendation, the main risk and a first step.

System design: Requirements, Sketch, Deep-dive, Trade-offs

1. Step 1

   Requirements

   Who uses it, what it must do and which qualities matter most.

2. Step 2

   Sketch

   The main parts and the path of one request through them.

3. Step 3

   Deep-dive

   The riskiest part in more detail: storage, queueing, failure handling.

4. Step 4

   Trade-offs

   What each choice costs and what you would do if it needed to grow.

Coding: Clarify, Plan, Code, Test, Analyse

Restate the problem and agree on an example, describe your plan and its cost, write small named steps, test with your own example and an edge case, then state time and space cost.

When you do not know

• Say what you do know and how you would find out the rest.
• Reason from first principles out loud. Interviewers often care more about how you think than the final answer.
• Never bluff. A plain "I have not done that, but here is how I would approach it" is stronger than a guess dressed as fact.

Keep reading

• The STAR method: a practical guide
• Interview preparation checklist
• Questions to ask your interviewer