Interview Coaching
Mock Interviews
Learn
System Design
ML System Design
DSA
Behavioral
Interview Insights
Story Crafting 101: Constructing Engaging Behavioral Interview Stories
By Evan King
Oct 16, 2023


The Importance of Storytelling in FAANG Interviews
Starting with Structure
- Situation: Set the stage by providing context. This could be a specific challenge or circumstance you found yourself in. Remember, the goal isn't to dive deep into minutiae but to give a clear snapshot.
- Task: What was your specific role or responsibility in this situation? Were you leading a team, solving a particularly thorny technical challenge, or perhaps navigating a complex client relationship?
- Action: This is the heart of your story. Detail the steps you took to address the task at hand. Be specific but concise, highlighting moments where you demonstrated key competencies, technical prowess, or leadership.
- Result: Close with the outcome. What was the tangible impact of your actions? Did you drive a particular metric, change a process for the better, or perhaps lead a team to an unexpected success? Quantifiable results, wherever possible, will add weight to your story.
Moving onto Substance
Revealing Character
- Show, Don't Just Tell: This should be obvious, but it's worth emphasizing nonetheless. It's one thing to say you're adaptable, but it's nothing if you don't share a compelling example. For instance, recount a time when you had to pivot in the middle of a project due to unforeseen challenges, illustrating how you navigated the situation and the decisions you made.
- Avoid Generic Examples: Steer clear of overly common scenarios like "I once worked overtime to meet a deadline." Instead, offer unique insights. Perhaps there was a time when you had to mediate between two team members with clashing perspectives, leading them to a compromise that benefited the project.
- Reflect on Your Choices: Rather than just narrating events, discuss your thought process. Were you torn between two courses of action? What considerations came into play? This gives depth to your character reveal.
- Highlight Ethical Dilemmas: Did you ever face a situation where the easy route and the right route weren't the same? Sharing such experiences not only showcases your ethical standpoint but also your moral compass in challenging situations.
Highlighting Cultural Fit
- Research Is Key: Before diving into your stories, ensure you're well-versed with the core values of the company you're interviewing with. This knowledge allows you to tailor your narratives to resonate more deeply.
- Showcase Relevant Initiatives: If you initiated a hackathon at a previous job, it's not just about the event; it's about showcasing your drive for innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving. Such a story aligns well with companies like Google or Facebook (Meta) that value creativity and innovation.
- Highlight Collaboration and Teamwork: FAANG companies often operate in cross-functional teams. Narrate instances where you've successfully collaborated across departments or brought diverse teams together to achieve a common goal.
- Discuss Adaptability and Growth: These tech giants are ever-evolving. Sharing stories where you've adapted to change or spearheaded new initiatives in response to industry shifts can signal your alignment with their dynamic nature.
- Emphasize Customer-Centric Stories: Companies like Amazon are known for their customer obsession. If you've gone above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction or have made decisions based on customer feedback, these stories can resonate strongly.
Ensuring Level Appropriateness
- Understand the Requirements: Before presenting your experiences, ensure you have a comprehensive grasp of the role's responsibilities and expectations. Whether it's technical mastery for a junior role or strategic vision for a senior position, align your stories to these specific requirements.
- Demonstrate Scope: Reflect on the magnitude and complexity of your past experiences. For junior roles, discuss detailed technical tasks or team collaborations. For senior roles, emphasize leadership in large-scale projects, strategic decisions, or organizational impact.
- Quantify Achievements: Numbers speak volumes. Regardless of the level, highlight the tangible outcomes of your endeavors. For higher roles, showcase how your initiatives led to significant metrics improvements, be it in user engagement, revenue growth, or process efficiency.
[!NOTE] I can't tell you the number of candidates I have downgraded as a result of their behavioral interviews. Too often, candidates answer a question literally, providing the first example that comes to mind. For instance, if you're a staff candidate, I don't want to hear about a conflict you had with a junior engineer—even if it is the most recent conflict you can recall. I would like to hear about cross-team or cross-organizational disagreements or instances where you had to persuade a director/VP about a direction you were passionate about.
Brevity and Precision
- Use Active Voice: Active voice promotes clarity and reduces wordiness. For instance, "I led the team" is more concise and direct than "The team was led by me."
- Use "I" Not "We" Where You Can: While teamwork is essential, interviewers are keen on understanding your specific contributions to a project or task. Using "I" pinpoints your actions and decisions, offering a clearer picture of your individual capabilities and impact.
- Avoid Over-explaining: Trust in the interviewer's ability to grasp concepts. If they need more information, they'll ask. Don't waste precious minutes over-elaborating points.
- Embrace Pauses: Don't mistake brevity for hurriedness. Take a moment to collect your thoughts before responding. This ensures your answers are more deliberate and concise.
Fine-Tuning Through Practice

- Draft Stories for Key Competencies: Dedicate some uninterrupted time to draft 1-2 stories for each of the primary 6 competencies: conflict resolution, perseverance, adaptability, leadership, teamwork, communication, and growth mindset. While individual FAANG companies have specific competencies, they broadly fall within these categories. Prefer a digital approach? Try Story Builder, an AI-powered tool that poses tailored questions and crafts compelling stories, aligning with the guidelines mentioned earlier. Explore it for free here.
- Seek Free AI Feedback: Input your stories into Chat GPT or utilize Hello Interview's free AI Behavioral mock interviews. This AI, shaped by both me and my FAANG hiring manager co-founder, offers instant, personalized feedback aligned with the values above.
- Engage in Mock Interviews: Undertake a mock interview with an individual who has interview experience at your target company. It's the optimal way to identify any gaps in your preparation. If you are well connected and have friends in the industry, practice with them. If not, platforms like Hello Interview enable you to schedule a mock interview with FAANG interviewers, including experts like myself.
Login to mark as read

Evan, Co-founder of Hello Interview and former Staff engineer at Meta, possesses a unique vantage point having been on both sides of the tech hiring process. With a track record of conducting hundreds of interviews and securing offers from top tech companies himself, he is now on a mission to help others do the same.
Comments
Recent Posts
Stop memorizing, start pattern matching
Mar 06, 2025
5 Keys to Staff-Level System Design Interviews
Sep 09, 2024
Google Interview Process: A Comprehensive Insider's Guide
Sep 06, 2024
Understanding the Differences between Meta's SWE Product Architecture and System Design Interviews
May 24, 2024
Meta's Product Architecture Interview: How to Prepare
May 01, 2024

Looking for more?
Get access to all premium content, guided practice, exclusive videos, and more.
Your account is free and you can post anonymously if you choose.