Epic Systems · Primly Community

Epic Systems behavioral interview questions and what they're really looking for with values

sam_recovering · 3 replies

I didn't realize going in how much Epic leans on behavioral interviews. I had done okay prep for the coding side but the behavioral round caught me a little off guard. Sharing what I wish I'd known.

Epic's culture is pretty specific. They're a privately held company, they have a mission around healthcare, and they're intentional about who fits. The behavioral questions I got reflected that.

Questions I remember: Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate. What happened and how did you handle it. Describe a project where something went wrong. What was your role in fixing it. How do you handle working on a team where people have very different working styles. Why do you want to work in healthcare software specifically.

That last one is worth preparing for seriously. "I want a job" is not what they want to hear. Think about why healthcare IT matters to you. If you have any personal connection to healthcare -- a family member, a volunteer experience, anything -- bring it up. It reads as genuine.

They also seem to value people who actually want to be in Wisconsin long-term. I mentioned that I had family in the Midwest and was ready to put down roots, and the interviewer visibly relaxed. They've seen a lot of people come for a year and leave.

Format: about 45 minutes, conversational, one interviewer. Mine asked follow-up questions that went pretty deep. Answering in STAR format (situation, task, action, result) kept me organized but I tried not to be robotic about it.

The values that kept coming up, either explicitly or implicitly: curiosity, collaboration, communication, and commitment to the mission. If you have stories that show those four things, you're in good shape.

3 replies

ae_andre

The 'why healthcare' question is a layup if you prep it and a disaster if you don't. Same with sales interviews and 'why this product.' You need a real answer or it falls apart in the follow-ups.

laidoff_lena

I bombed the behavioral round at a similar company because I hadn't thought through the culture fit piece. I had great STAR stories but none of them connected to 'why do you care about this particular mission.' Good reminder to make that connection explicit.

marketer_mei

The Wisconsin roots comment is interesting. It sounds like they're screening for churn risk as much as anything else. Makes sense for a company that invests heavily in training new hires.