STAR method, behavioral, situational, technical — tailored to how this role actually works day-to-day. Each question has a rubric for what a strong answer covers.
STAR · Universal
Tell me about a time you missed an important deadline. What happened, and what did you do?
What good looks like:Owns the miss (no blame deflection), names the contributing factors, describes recovery actions, and pulls a concrete lesson into a system or habit.
Follow-up: What's different about how you approach deadlines today because of that?
Walk me through a time you had to convince someone with more authority than you that they were wrong.
What good looks like:Names the stakes, shows how they framed the case with data and the person's interests, and describes the outcome — including humility if they were partially wrong.
Follow-up: How did the relationship hold up afterwards?
Describe a project where the scope changed midway. How did you handle the change?
What good looks like:Articulates the original plan, what triggered the change, how they re-prioritized, and how they communicated the new shape of the work upward and across.
Follow-up: If you could redo one decision on that project, what would it be?
Tell me about a time you received hard feedback that surprised you. What did you do with it?
What good looks like:Recognizes the gap honestly, separates the feedback from the messenger, and shows a behavior change with evidence — not just a self-narrative.
Describe the most ambiguous problem you've solved at work. How did you make progress?
What good looks like:Names the ambiguity explicitly, describes the structure they imposed (questions asked, hypotheses tested), and shows how they narrowed scope to a shippable first step.
Follow-up: Who did you pull in, and why those people?
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate's approach. How did you resolve it?
What good looks like:Goes beyond "we talked it out" — explains how they steel-manned the other view, what tradeoffs surfaced, and how the decision actually got made.
Behavioral · SDR (Sales Development Rep)
Tell me about your best month as an SDR. What drove it?
What good looks like:Specific number (meetings booked, pipeline generated), names the input behaviors (call volume, sequence A/B test, ICP refinement) — not just "I worked harder."
Describe a month you missed quota. What did you change?
What good looks like:Diagnoses honestly (activity volume vs targeting vs messaging vs conversion), and names the concrete change — ideally with a result.
Walk me through how you'd open a cold call today.
What good looks like:Has a real opener, names the assumption it's testing (pattern interrupt, named-account context, etc.), and acknowledges when openers stop working.
Tell me about a deal you sourced that closed. What was your role after handoff?
What good looks like:Beyond "I booked the meeting" — describes staying engaged through close, multi-threading, what they handed off vs kept warm.
Situational · SDR (Sales Development Rep)
You've called a prospect 6 times, sent 4 emails, hit them on LinkedIn — silence. What's call 7?
What good looks like:Pattern break — change channel, change persona, or use a curiosity-bait subject line. Bonus: name when you stop and put them in a lower-frequency nurture.
Your AE keeps rejecting your meetings as "unqualified." How do you handle it?
What good looks like:Doesn't escalate first — gets specifics on what "qualified" means in writing, re-aligns ICP, then escalates if the disagreement persists with manager.
You're 20% behind quota with one week left. What's your plan?
What good looks like:Concrete: reactivate stale opps, target a vertical with the highest historic conversion, escalate to highest-fit accounts. Avoids "spray and pray" pattern.
Technical · SDR (Sales Development Rep)
Walk me through how you'd build a target list for a new vertical.
What good looks like:Names the data sources (ZoomInfo, Apollo, LinkedIn Sales Nav), the firmographic + technographic criteria, and how they'd validate the list with 10 calls before scaling.
What objections do you get most often, and how do you handle them?
What good looks like:Top 2-3 named with the actual line they use — not a sales-textbook answer. Bonus: they describe how the response evolved.
How do you research a target account before reaching out?
What good looks like:Concrete: 10-K filings (for public), recent press, LinkedIn for the buyer's tenure, product reviews. Adapts research depth to deal size.
Culture · Universal
What's the best feedback you've gotten in the last year, and what did you do with it?
What good looks like:Picks specific, uncomfortable feedback (not a humble-brag), traces the behavior change, and is honest about whether the change stuck.
Describe how you give critical feedback to a peer.
What good looks like:Specific recent example, attention to timing and audience, separates the behavior from the person, and asks for the other side of the story.
What kind of manager brings out your best work?
What good looks like:Self-aware — knows what they need (autonomy, structure, frequent check-ins, etc.) and what they don't. Bonus if they describe how they adapt to managers who don't match.
Tell me about a time you advocated for an unpopular decision.
What good looks like:Names the unpopularity explicitly, walks through their reasoning, and is honest about the outcome — including if they were wrong.
What's a habit or ritual that makes you better at your work?
What good looks like:Concrete and unforced. The best answers are small, specific, and personally invented — not a CEO-podcast trope.
Motivation · Universal
Why this role, specifically?
What good looks like:Has done their homework — references the actual job description, product, or recent company news, not just "I love your mission."
Follow-up: What's the part of this role you're least sure you'd love?
What's the next thing you want to get great at in your career?
What good looks like:Specific, named skill or domain. Bonus points if they can articulate why this role accelerates that vs another role they're considering.
Walk me through the most recent thing you learned that wasn't required by your job.
What good looks like:Specific, recent, and ideally adjacent to (not directly inside) their job — shows genuine curiosity rather than performative learning.
Where do you want to be in three years?
What good looks like:Less about title, more about the kind of work and impact. Honesty about uncertainty is a positive signal; over-rehearsed answers are a flag.
Raffi calls every applicant for a 10–15 minute conversational interview, asks the sdr (sales development rep)-specific questions from this bank, scores against the rubric, and hands you the top 3–5. SaaS, $25 starter credit.