What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you? Helps with perspective and to try and see things from a different point of view. Shown me a way of going about something that wasn't clear to me.
How does empathy help you build better software? Gain more perspective and insight that you might not have thought of before, and down the road makes a better product.
Why is empathy important for working on a team? Empathy is important on a team because you'll have a team hopefully with diverse backgrounds. And empathy will help you relate better with your team and it more cohesive and efficient.
Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful. While biking with a girl from our ski team she didn't want to go down a more technical trail, because she hadn't mountain biked much and wasn't very confidient. I could empathize, because if she got hurt she might miss part of the season, and that could affect her scholarship, if she stayed on the team, she was coming back from a knee injury. So we took an easier way down.
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios? If I've got a way about an idea in my head lined out, and it doesn't line out with someone elses. I think in those scenarios just hear the person out and gain some perspective that you might not have heard or thought of before.