How Long Should Interview Answers Be? The 60 to 90 Second Rule

You walk out of an interview and replay it on the drive home. Did I say enough? Did I say too much? Why did that one answer feel like it went on forever?

After years of sitting on interview panels and now coaching candidates, I can tell you that "too much" is far more common than "not enough". The candidates who lose marks this way usually aren't underqualified. They know their work so well that they want to show all of it, and the point of their answer gets lost somewhere in the middle.

So here is the short answer, why it matters more than most people think, and a simple way to get your answers to the right length without sounding rehearsed.

The short answer: 60 to 90 seconds

For most interview questions, aim for 60 to 90 seconds. That is long enough to give the panel a real example with a clear result, and short enough that they can follow it without going back to check what they asked.

The right length shifts a little with the type of question:

• Behavioural ("Tell me about a time..."): 60 to 90 seconds. For example, "Tell me about a time you managed a difficult stakeholder."
• Scenario ("What would you do if..."): 60 to 90 seconds. For example, "Your manager asks you to present results more favourably than the data supports. What do you do?"
• Opening question: 60 to 90 seconds, one line per role. For example, "Briefly take us through your career and why you applied."
• Short, direct questions: 30 to 60 seconds. For example, "Why this role?" or "What are your strengths?"
• Follow-up questions: 20 to 40 seconds. For example, "What did you require of him in return?"

If you go a little over 90 seconds now and then, it isn't fatal. If most of your answers run to two or three minutes, it is costing you.

Why long answers score lower

It's tempting to think a longer answer shows more experience. From the other side of the table, it usually does the opposite.

The panel is writing while you talk. Some panel members write almost word for word. Others jot a few bullet points. Either way, they're trying to capture the part of your answer that matches what they asked. When the first minute is all background, I'd find myself going back to the question on my sheet and underlining it, just to remind myself what I was listening for. Many times the answer was in there. It was just buried in the middle.

Panels see a lot of candidates in a day. By the third or fourth interview, the candidates who stand out are the ones who make it easy to follow along. The easier you make the panel's job, the better your answer lands.

The real decision happens after you leave. Once you're out of the room, the panel compares notes. If someone had to dig for your answer, the conversation goes something like "I don't think they actually answered the question." You won't be there to point out that you did, three minutes in.

A longer interview isn't a better interview. I've sat on panels with five questions where one candidate ran over time and another finished in 20 minutes. The short one wasn't marked down for it. If a panel wants more detail, they'll ask a follow-up. That back-and-forth is what fills the time, not one long answer.

Senior panel members are listening for how you'll brief them. If a CFO or executive is on the panel, they're quietly assessing whether you can explain something clearly to a busy person who doesn't share your technical detail. A concise answer is evidence you can.

A simple structure that keeps you on time

Most long answers aren't long because of the action. They're long because of the set-up. The fix is to give yourself a line limit for each part of the story:

1. Context: one or two lines. Where you were and what was going on. Only what the panel needs to follow the story.
2. Challenge: one or two lines. What you were up against. Name the person and their role ("the executive director of operations"), not "stakeholders".
3. Action: three or four lines. What you did, in "I", not "we". Include your reasoning: why you chose that route over another. For anyone moving into leadership, this is where the marks are, because panels want to see your judgement, not just your activity.
4. Result: one or two lines. What changed because of you. A number, a timeframe or a piece of feedback.

That's the STAR method with a time budget attached. Said out loud at a normal pace, it lands somewhere between 60 and 90 seconds.

If you need to cut, cut the context. Never cut the action or the result.

Same story, two lengths

The examples below are illustrative composites written for this article, not transcripts of real candidates.

The question: "Tell me about a time you had to give advice a senior leader didn't want to hear."

Weak: the long way round

"So, in my last organisation we were going through a big restructure, and there were a lot of changes happening across the business units. Finance had brought in a new system the year before that hadn't really bedded in. My team looked after the quarterly reporting, which went to the executive team and the board, and we'd been working on improving the process for a while, so there were a lot of projects going on. We were also short-staffed at the time, because..."

This answer runs for another minute and a half before the senior leader even appears. Forty-five seconds in, the panel has heard about a restructure, a finance system and staffing. They haven't heard any advice, any disagreement or anything you did. They're back at the question, checking what they asked.

Stronger: about 75 seconds

"(Context) As reporting manager, I prepared the quarterly performance report for our executive team. (Challenge) One measure, complaint resolution time, was going to miss its target, and the general manager who owned it asked me to change how we calculated it so it would pass. (Action) I asked him what was behind the request. His concern was fair: a new product had doubled complaint volumes. But the method was already published, and changing it after the fact would undermine every other figure in the report. I told him I couldn't change it retrospectively, and offered two things instead: a short explanation alongside the number, and a formal review of the method for next year. I briefed my own manager the same day so there were no surprises. (Result) The report went out with the original method and his explanation. The method was reviewed properly for the following year, and he asked me to sit on that review."

Same kind of experience. The difference is that the senior leader and the disagreement arrive in the first two sentences, the action shows judgement, and the result is specific. The panel can write it down as you go and score it.

From the coaching chair

I recently coached an experienced manager going for a senior public sector role. She'd been merit-listed for similar roles more than once but hadn't received an offer, and she'd started to lose confidence. In her words, she couldn't work out what the problem was, because she knew the work inside out.

She was right: the experience was all there. In our first mock interview, nearly every answer ran well past 90 seconds, and most of that extra time was context. I kept going back to my question sheet to find the part of her answer that actually addressed it.

We kept most of her examples. She wrote each one out in full, then cut it down to the line limits above, and timed herself saying it out loud. In our follow-up session, her answers came in on time almost across the board. I was never lost once. The only two that ran over were the ones where she lost confidence halfway through and kept talking to fill the gap, which brings me to the next point.

When you've made your point, stop

The hardest part of a 90-second answer is the last second. Many people keep going because the room goes quiet, and silence feels like a sign the answer wasn't good enough.

It usually isn't. The panel is writing, thinking, or working out whether to ask a follow-up. Let the silence sit. You said what you said.

If they want more, they'll ask. Treat follow-up questions as a good sign: something in your answer interested them. Keep those answers shorter, around 20 to 40 seconds, and answer exactly what they asked.

One more thing: give one example per question. If the panel wants a second example, they'll ask for it.

How to practice hitting 60 to 90 seconds

You don't need a script. You need a bank of examples you know well enough to tell at the right length.

1. Start when you apply, not when the invite arrives. Go through the position description line by line and ask, "Do I have an example for this?" Aim for one or two per area, so on the day you can pick the one that fits the question best.
2. Write each example out in full first. Don't worry about length or polish. Get the whole story down.
3. Then cut it to the line limits. One or two lines of context, one or two of challenge, three or four of action, one or two of result. Giving yourself a limit forces the decision about what matters.
4. Say it out loud with a timer running. Your phone's stopwatch is fine. If you're over 90 seconds, look at the context first. That's almost always where the extra time is.
5. Don't memorise it word for word. Know the four beats and the result, then tell it naturally. Scripts break the moment a panel asks the question in a slightly different way.

Our free STAR method worksheet gives you a page for each of your five core stories, and the common behavioural interview questions list is a good place to test which examples you're missing.

Frequently asked questions

Is a two-minute interview answer too long?

Occasionally, no. As a habit, yes. By two minutes most panels have stopped writing and started waiting. If several of your answers run that long, trim the context first.

Can an interview answer be too short?

Yes. If a behavioural answer is under about 30 seconds, it usually skips the action or the result, and the panel has to pull the detail out of you with follow-ups. Short is good; incomplete isn't.

How long should a STAR answer be?

About 60 to 90 seconds. Spend roughly 10% on the situation, 10% on the task, 60% on your action and 20% on the result.

How long should "tell me about yourself" be?

60 to 90 seconds. One line per relevant role, then one line on why you applied. Our guide to answering "tell me about yourself" walks through it.

What if the interviewer cuts me off?

Don't take it personally. They're usually managing time or already have what they need. Answer their next question directly and keep it short.

Does this apply to one-way video interviews?

Yes. Many platforms set a maximum time per answer, but you don't have to use all of it. Our one-way video interview guide covers the format.

Getting your answers to the right length isn't about saying less. It's about saying the part that matters first, so the panel can hear it, write it down and give you credit for it.

If you'd like to hear how your answers actually land, the Interview Practice Lab runs a free 3-question mock interview, no signup required. And if the weakness question is the one that tends to run long, our guide to answering "what is your greatest weakness?" uses the same 60 to 90 second approach.