What type of questions focus on specific past situations and how you handled them?

The type of questions that focus on specific past situations and how you handled them are behavioral questions. Behavioral questions are designed to elicit information about a candidate's past experiences and actions in specific situations, based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. These questions often start with phrases like "Tell me about a time when..." or "Give me an example of..." and encourage candidates to provide detailed narratives about their experiences, including the challenges faced, the actions taken, and the outcomes achieved.

In contrast, traditional questions typically ask candidates to discuss their qualifications or approach to general topics, without delving into specific past experiences. Situational questions present hypothetical scenarios to assess how candidates would handle potential future challenges, rather than reviewing their past behavior. Hypothetical questions may also place candidates in imagined situations, but they do not focus on real past experiences, which sets them apart from behavioral inquiries.