43 behavioral interview questions for business analysts (plus answers to look for)

When assessing candidates for a business analyst position, it’s critical to understand how they approach their work, both individually and on a team. Personality mismatches between an applicant and your work environment or existing team can lead to poor productivity and high turnover.

One of the best ways to learn more about business analyst candidates is to use behavioral interview questions. These questions reveal aspects of an applicant’s personality and professional experiences that can have a big impact on their work. Combining role-specific skills tests, personality testing, and behavioral interview questions enables you to get a complete picture of your candidates and make the best hire. 

In this guide, we’ll explain the importance of asking about candidates’ behavior and offer 43 behavioral interview questions you should ask when hiring a business analyst.

What are behavioral interview questions?

Behavioral interview questions prompt job candidates to reveal more about their personalities, experiences, and how they work in different situations. It offers the interviewer an opportunity to learn more about their soft skills, such as communication style, adaptability, and leadership skills. 

They often begin with phrases such as “Tell me about a time when…” or “How would you respond if…”, which allow the candidate to speak freely about their approach to different situations and what factors they find important when making decisions. 

Why ask behavioral questions during an interview?

Behavioral interview questions can help you learn a lot more about a candidate’s work style and motivation. Instead of simply asking about an applicant’s qualifications, you can elicit specific examples of how they have approached situations in the past and why.

For example, when interviewing a business analyst, you could ask about a time their opinion was contrary to what the rest of their team thought and how they handled it. Their response can provide insight into whether they prefer to voice their disagreement or stay quiet and how they approach disagreement.

Behavioral questions are also good for candidates. The format of these questions invites them to tell stories about their experiences, giving them a chance to explain the qualities they can bring to your business. 

It’s much more effective for a business analyst to tell you about a specific time their meticulous nature led to finding a key detail than it is for them to simply say that they’re detail-oriented.

Finally, you can use behavioral questions to explore how applicants will fare in your work environment and how they will work with others at your business. By combining these with skills-based questions and personality testing, you can get a 360-degree view of all your candidates. 

43 behavioral interview questions for business analysts & answers to look for

As we’ve seen, behavioral interview questions can play an important role in hiring an effective business analyst for your company.

Below, we cover 42 behavioral interview questions to ask business analyst candidates and the types of answers you can expect from top candidates.

Teamwork: behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts rarely work in isolation. They have to share information and work directly with outside consultants, subject-matter experts, stakeholders inside your company, and even other business analysts. So, good teamwork skills are essential.

Teamwork-oriented business analysts should be able to give concrete examples of times they worked collaboratively on a project. They should also enjoy working in a team environment and feel comfortable taking on work for others or sharing the burden of a large project.

On the other hand, candidates who prefer to work alone or have difficulty cooperating with peers may not be a great fit for your business.

Here are some questions to ask business analysts to better understand their teamwork skills:

1. Think of an important team project you’ve worked on in the past. What were the greatest challenges and greatest rewards? 

2. Do you prefer working alone, in small groups, or in larger groups? Why?

3. How do you prefer to communicate with teammates and why?

4. Can you describe a time when you experienced poor team dynamic and how you handled it?

5. Can you describe how you and your teammates distributed assignments when working on a team project in the past?

Attention to detail: behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts need to be detail-oriented and meticulous in their work, digging into performance data and spot low-hanging opportunities for improvement.

Prioritize candidates who are curious, willing to follow leads, and pay close attention to details. These applicants are more likely to notice things that others might miss, which can lead to major improvements in your business.

Candidates who prefer to skip over details or have a sloppy approach to work might not be right for your company. The same goes for candidates who aren’t motivated to closely scrutinize data.

Some questions to ask business analyst candidates to assess their attention to detail include:

1. How do you prefer to keep track of important details when working on a project?

2. Tell us about a time you noticed an important detail that others missed.

3. How do you balance accuracy with speed in your work?

4. What strategies do you use to ensure that your work is accurate?

Adaptability: behavioral questions for business analysts

The work of a business analyst is constantly changing over time. They might be tasked one month with optimizing performance in a single department and reducing costs across your entire company the next.

With that in mind, you want to look for candidates who are:

• Adaptable and flexible

• Excited to take on new challenges

• Able to work collaboratively with many different stakeholders

• Positive when faced with setbacks

Business analysts who are highly resistant to change or have a hard time letting go of past habits and assignments may struggle with the flexibility required by their role.

Questions to ask to gauge a business analyst’s adaptability include:

1. Tell us about a time when the scope or direction of a project changed significantly midway through. What was your reaction and how did you ensure previous efforts weren’t entirely lost?

2. Tell us about a time you faced a major challenge in a project and how you overcame it.

3. How do you manage new assignments within your portfolio of work, especially when they have a tight deadline?

4. Tell me about a time you’ve had to improvise when unexpected challenges arose in a project?

5. Can you give an example of a time you adapted to major changes in your work environment, such as a change in leadership or new technology?

Leadership behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts don’t often occupy managerial roles, but they still need leadership skills to do their jobs effectively. That’s because analysts often need to champion the performance and operational changes that they recommend. 

They also have to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders and coordinate with consultants and operations managers.

Leadership skills to look for in a business analyst applicant include:

• The ability to delegate work among team members

• The ability to persuade colleagues that a specific change is good for business

• Conflict mediation

Business analysts who lack these skills may still be suitable for the role. However, they may need additional professional development before taking on large-scale projects or reporting directly to company leaders.

Questions you can ask to understand a business analyst candidate’s leadership skills include:

1. How would you persuade managers and their employees to champion a change that you recommend to their work processes?

2. Can you give an example of a time that you helped mediate a conflict between stakeholders in an analysis?

3. Tell us about a time when you managed a team or assignment in the past. What were the positive and negative aspects of that experience?

4. Can you give an example of a time when a mistake happened and how you took responsibility for it?

5. Have you served as a mentor to a colleague in the past, either in an official capacity or informally?

6. What do you think are the ideal qualities of a leader? Which of those qualities do you have, and which do you lack?

Problem-solving behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts need to use problem-solving skills frequently in their job. Improving existing business processes requires identifying opportunities, balancing multiple stakeholders, and finding creative solutions.

Business analysts with good problem-solving skills typically exhibit characteristics like:

• Adaptability

• Innovation

• Confidence in decision-making

• Curiosity

On the other hand, business analysts who suffer from decision paralysis or who get stuck in their routines may not be as effective at solving problems within your company. 

You can find out more about a business analyst’s ability to solve problems with behavioral interview questions like:

1. What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced on a project and how did you solve it?

2. When someone suggests a solution to a problem, how do you go about evaluating that solution?

3. Can you give an example of a time you were tasked with solving a problem but didn’t have all the information you needed? How did you respond?

4. Imagine you are halfway through implementing a business change and discover a problem with the implementation. How would you respond?

5. Do you prefer to come into a problem that others have worked on with no information so you can start with a clean slate, or do you prefer to know all of the information that was collected in the past before starting?

Communication behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts need to be excellent communicators. Their job requires them to clearly communicate with stakeholders to gather important information and bring people on board with changes, rather than alienate them.

Business analysts also need to communicate clearly with supervisors. They need to make a strong case for why your company should follow their recommendations and lay out the pros and cons of each option they present.

In addition, business analysts are likely to need both written and verbal communication skills. They may have to present at meetings, write reports, speak one-on-one with department managers, and more.

With that in mind, here are some behavioral interview questions to ask business analysts about their communication skills:

1. How do you explain data or complex ideas to someone who isn’t a business analyst?

2. Do you prefer written or verbal communication to share findings, and why?

3. Tell us about a time you successfully persuaded a supervisor to follow your recommendation.

4. Can you give an example of a time you had a verbal disagreement at work and how you handled it?

Growth potential behavioral questions for business analysts

Highly successful business analysts have the ability to develop professionally over time. Ideally, your hiring campaign will identify candidates who could eventually grow into leadership roles within your company.

Applicants with high growth potential should display characteristics such as:

• Motivation to take on new challenges

• Eagerness to learn from those around them

• Curiosity about new technologies, business lines, and projects

• Willingness to go above and beyond for their work

If a business analyst doesn’t have aspirations for the future and isn’t excited about learning, you may want to think twice about hiring them. These candidates may be able to perform well enough at their job, but your company deserves an analyst who is excited to grow and take on more responsibility in the future.

You can evaluate these growth-centric behaviors through questions like:

1. Where do you see yourself professionally five to 10 years from now?

2. Can you describe a time you received constructive criticism from a supervisor and how you integrated that feedback into your work?

3. How do you stay on top of new trends and technologies in business analysis?

4. Tell us about a time you went above and beyond in a previous job.

5. What professional skills would you most like to develop in the next two to three years?

Time management behavioral questions for business analysts

Business analysts often need to divide their time among multiple projects with different deadlines and prioritizations. So, it’s important that they have strong time-management skills and the ability to work flexibly when urgent work pops up. 

Business analysts who struggle to manage deadlines or who are highly stressed by balancing multiple projects may not be a good fit for your company.

Questions to ask to better understand how a business analyst candidate manages their time include:

1. How do you prioritize work when you have several projects that all need your attention?

2. What’s your normal work schedule like? How do you prefer to structure your day?

3. Do you use any productivity tools? If so, which ones and why do you find them helpful

4. How do you respond if you miss a deadline?

Motivation and values behavioral questions for business analysts

A highly motivated business analyst is likely to work harder for your company and stick with your business for the long term. Understanding a business analyst’s work motivations and values can also help you determine whether they will fit in with your company culture.

In addition, evaluating a candidate’s work motivations can provide important insights for their manager if they’re hired. Some business analysts may be more motivated by praise, others by independence, and others by taking on bigger projects. 

Managers can use this knowledge to reward a business analyst for good work and help them grow within your company.

Questions to ask to assess a business analyst’s work motivations include:

1. What’s your favorite aspect of being a business analyst?

2. At the end of a successful project, what would an ideal reward for your hard work be to you?

3. Can you describe a time you found yourself in a rut at work and what you did to get out of it?

4. What makes you most excited about working as a business analyst for our company?

How to roll out behavioral interviews

Behavioral interview questions can be an integral part of hiring a business analyst. They can help you identify candidates who will fit well within your company, take ownership of projects assigned to them, and work effectively from day to day.

However, behavioral questions are just one piece of a complete candidate evaluation. With TestGorilla, you can pair behavioral questions with personality testing to learn as much as possible about every candidate.

TestGorilla offers several personality tests, including  DISC, Enneagram, Big 5 (OCEAN), and 16-type tests. It also includes a culture add test and a motivation test. You can also add your own custom questions, making it easy to integrate the behavioral interview questions that matter most for your business. Candidates can respond with written answers or by recording a video.

You can mix-and-match these personality tests with role-specific tests to create the perfect assessment for hiring a business analyst. TestGorilla will automatically recommend tests from its library of more than 315 premade tests to help you get started. 

Other tests you can use to evaluate business analyst candidates include: 

• IT Business Analyst test;

• Market Analysis test; and

• Business Judgment test.

You can start creating assessments using 10 of TestGorilla’s most popular tests and add custom questions with our free forever plan. Paid plans, which offer access to all of the tests in TestGorilla’s library, start at only $75 per month.

Conclusion

It’s crucial to have a complete picture of every candidate when hiring a business analyst for your company. You need to understand not only what skills they bring to the table, but how they’ll behave in different situations and how they’ll mesh with your work environment and existing team. 

The best way to do that is to incorporate some of the 42 behavioral interview questions we presented into your hiring campaign. You can add these custom questions to any assessment within TestGorilla, making it easy to pair them with skills and personality tests.

If you’re ready to learn more about your candidates, try out TestGorilla for free today. You can also schedule a 30-minute live demo with a TestGorilla representative or check out our product tour anytime.