Equinor Behavioural Interview: 6 Themes & How to Answer

What to expect from an Equinor behavioural interview

Behavioural (or competency-based) interviews rest on one idea: past behaviour is the best available predictor of future behaviour. Instead of asking what you would do, the interviewer asks what you did, then probes for detail. Large energy and engineering employers commonly use this format, sometimes alongside technical questions, and some use a one-way recorded video stage early in the process.

We have no insider knowledge of Equinor's current process, scoring or question bank, and you should be wary of anyone who claims otherwise. What you can do is prepare for the competencies that well-established frameworks in the energy sector tend to assess, and check Equinor's careers pages and your invitation email for the format, timings and any values or leadership principles they publish.

Treat this guide as a preparation method rather than a leaked question list. If your stories are specific, honest and well structured, they will adapt to whatever question you are asked.

Six competencies energy employers commonly assess

Read the job description and Equinor's published values first, then map your experience to themes like these. They are typical of the sector, not a confirmed Equinor scorecard.

• Safety and risk judgement: noticing hazards, following procedure, and knowing when to stop and escalate. In energy this is rarely a side issue.
• Speaking up with courage: challenging a decision, raising a concern or admitting a mistake, even when it is uncomfortable.
• Collaboration across disciplines: working with engineers, operations, commercial or external partners who see problems differently.
• Openness and integrity: being transparent about errors, uncertainty and trade-offs, and acting ethically under pressure.
• Adaptability and learning: coping with changing priorities, new technology or the wider shift in the energy system.
• Ownership and delivery: taking responsibility for an outcome, planning realistically and following through.

Use STAR to structure every answer

STAR keeps your answer focused and makes it easy for an assessor to find the evidence. Aim for roughly 2 minutes spoken, which is about 250-300 words.

Situation: one or two sentences of context. Task: what you personally were responsible for. Action: what you did, step by step, using "I" rather than "we". Result: the outcome, ideally with a measurable or observable effect, plus what you learned.

Spend about 60-70% of your time on Action. The most common weakness is a long scene-setting introduction followed by a vague "and it went well".

Worked example: raising a safety concern

Question: "Tell me about a time you challenged a decision because you were worried about risk." This is an illustrative answer for a university lab placement. Replace the details with your own real experience.

Situation: "During my final-year project, my team was running a pressurised gas experiment, and we were behind schedule before a supervisor review." Task: "As the person responsible for the equipment checklist, I had to confirm the rig was safe to run."

Action: "While checking, I noticed a fitting that didn't match the specification in our risk assessment. A teammate suggested we run the test anyway and flag it afterwards. I explained that I wasn't comfortable doing that, paused the experiment and showed the mismatch to the lab technician. I then proposed a revised schedule so we could replace the part and still present usable results."

Result: "The technician confirmed the fitting was wrong and replaced it. We ran the test a day later with no incident, and the supervisor praised the clear documentation. Our team then added a step to the checklist requiring a second person to verify components. I learned that raising a concern early costs far less than fixing a problem later."

Why it works: it shows a specific decision, a respectful challenge, a practical alternative and a lasting improvement, without exaggeration.

Practice questions to prepare

These are typical competency questions, not confirmed Equinor questions. Prepare a story for each theme, then check whether two or three stories can flex across several questions.

• Describe a time you made a mistake at work or study. What did you do about it?
• Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague or manager.
• Give an example of working with people from a different team or culture to reach a shared goal.
• Describe a situation where priorities changed suddenly. How did you respond?
• Tell me about a time you took responsibility for something that wasn't strictly your job.
• When have you had to learn something new quickly?

Common mistakes and better alternatives

Assessors read many answers, so small habits matter. Here is what to change.

• Don't say "we" throughout. Do make your personal contribution clear while crediting the team.
• Don't pick a flawless story. Do choose one with a real difficulty, and say what you would do differently.
• Don't give a hypothetical ("I would always…"). Do describe something that actually happened.
• Don't recite company values back. Do show them through behaviour in your example.
• Don't leave out the result. Do close with the outcome and a lesson learned, in one or two sentences.

Preparing for the video format

If your interview is recorded, you usually get a short preparation window and a fixed answer time, with no interviewer reacting to you. Practise speaking to a camera, keep notes to keywords only, and rehearse finishing inside the time limit.

Tools like ScreenReady let you rehearse timed, one-way video answers and review AI feedback on structure and clarity, which can help you tighten rambling STAR stories. Whatever you use, record yourself, watch it back, and trim anything that doesn't support your point.