As a hiring manager, I would only ask scenario-based questions that one: Relate to the role itself, and two: relate to the workplace. I would never ask a hypothetical question that has nothing to do with the role or company. For instance, I know the role itself can have multiple projects, so I will ask scenarios where the candidate has to priorities and meet multiple deadlines. However, perhaps I also know that the previous candidate was always late to work, so to avoid the same issue with a new employee, I would ask about the interviewee’s punctuality. So far, no red flags. But let’s say I also know the manager they will report to is unprofessional, and I want to see how they can work with and deal with this kind of management style – I would have to attempt to sniff this out as subtly as possible and would typically use a scenario based question to do so. Most candidates do not know this process and simply feel it is a random question that covers all grounds to see what kind of person the candidate is, rather than subtly telling the interviewee what kind of role and company they are.
