Stress Interviews

Handling Stress Interviews

 

Stress Interviews

           Stress interviews are conducted to test the candidate’s ability to handle his/her pressure or adverse behaviors or situations. The candidates are put under extreme pressure to assess if he / she can stay calm in a pressurized environment and respond appropriately.

    

A stress interview is usually conducted to put an interviewee in a delicate or awkward position and to assess how a candidate responds under pressures, deals with stress, and handles workplace conflicts and problems.

 

 

Purpose of Stress interviews

• Stress interviews are conducted by companies which operate under extreme pressures like Banking, Customer Services etc.
• Your role in the industry demands high authority and responsibility.

          When conducting the stress interviews, employers test the candidates to see how they handle workplace conflicts, abusive people and work overload. The recruiters also assess your psychological and physical responses to stressful situations. 

  

Tips to handle Stress Interviews:

•  Be prepared. Employers will never inform about Stress interviews. So make sure you prepare for the questions
• Run through some scenarios or questions related to Stress interviews and how to handle them.
• Don’t think about the right answers. The interviewer is interested in knowing how you handle the situation not the content of your answer.
• Be cool and calm. Relax and take your own time to answer the questions.The interviewer will never look for a polished response; they are looking at how you deal with the pressure of the situation or question.
• Don't take it personally. The interviewer is doing his/her job to select a right candidate. So don’t mirror their behavior. A stress interview is a technique used to demonstrate how you respond under pressure not an attack on you.
• Be positive. Don’t react to questions but respond to them. Show them that you are resilient.

 Types of Stress Interviews 

Dismissive/Rude Questioning:

     The interviewer may act as if he/she is uninterested in you and don’t listen to what you say. The interviewer may act in an aggressive or unfriendly manner.

 Techniques include:

 

·        Body languages and signals to show you that the interviewer have better work to do, such as constantly checking their watch, watching outside or sorting papers on their desk etc.,. 

·        Act as if they are distracted or bored such as looking around the room and purposefully avoiding eye contact. 

·        Subjecting you to a long wait

·        Talking abruptly

·        Answering phone calls in the mid of the interview 

·   Asking challenging questions in a humiliating or shaming tone

·      Interrupt you or ask you constantly to repeat your answer.

 

In extreme stress interviews, you may be put in front of several interviewers who intimidate you in turn to see if you will ‘break and react”. They ask you questions like:

·  I am not able to understand your answer. Could you start again? ·  How many other jobs are you applying for?

Question: “I am not able to understand your answer. Could you start again?”

Sample answer:    “I am happy to repeat my response again. Is there a particular point you would like me to elaborate on?”

 

Note:  Don’t backtrack on your previous answer. The interviewer is looking for you to calmly repeat your answer, stand by your original response and provide   clarification on anything that may be unclear for the interviewer.

  

Aggressive questioning:

           In order to trigger the candidate’s emotion and unnerve the candidate, the interviewer may ask the candidate aggressive questions like

 

·        What do you think about my interviewing skills? ·        Do you think you are qualified for this job? ·        What makes you think that you are qualified for this job? ·        Is this the way to write your Resume?

 

Remember, the interviewer already knows your qualifications and work history through your resume. What they are looking for is your confident way of answering the questions in your own abilities.

 

Question: “What makes you think that you are qualified for this job?”

Sample answer:    “From your job description, I understood that the key responsibility of this role is to provide good customer service in any circumstances. I often faced many aggressive people in my life. It was a tough for me at the beginning but later my experiences has taught me that this type of behavior is because of their frustrations and I understood that the best way to solve these problems is through patience and understanding.”

 

Note: Think of key personality traits you possess which you feel will suit the role you are applying for and give examples to support your answers.

 

Random questioning:

           These types of questions are often used to assess how candidates think on their own. The interviewer may ask random questions such as

 

·        What would you do if you win a one million dollar lottery? ·        How would you change the ambiance of this room? ·        Explain what would you change in the design of a post box?

 

These types of questions are asked to

1. Test your problem-solving skills as well as your personality check at the same time.
2. Check if you can perform under pressure with sound reasoning. 

 

Question  : “ Explain what would you change in the design of a post box?”

Sample answer:    “We are seeing the closure of a lot of post offices, so I would like to bring digitization in some basic services of the post offices.”

 

Note: Random questions like these will have no right answers. In asking them, the interviewer is assessing on how you respond to on the spot questions. They are not looking for you to reinvent the wheel.

 

Hypothetical Questions:

           These questions are asked to assess how you would handle workplace conflicts. You may be exposed with an awkward hypothetical or vague situation and asked to explain how you would deal with it. 

 

Few Hypothetical questions are:

·  What would you do if you find your co-worker cheating on their expenses? ·  What would you do if you are been physically threatened by an extremely aggressive customer. How do you react? ·  How will you deal with a co-worker who constantly takes credit for your ideas?

 

 

Question  : “How will you deal with a co-worker who constantly takes credit for your ideas?”

Sample answer:  “I have often found that people who take credit for others ideas feel that their own voice is not being heard. So I would encourage them to work co-coordinately first. Then I would establish a common goal for us to work and make sure that all ideas and opinions are taken on board and discussed openly.  By doing so, I would hope to establish a working relationship built on mutual respect and teamwork.”

 

Note: Your answer here should demonstrate how you will deal with workplace conflicts and how well you perform as a team player. Try to show your diplomacy and willingness to compromise.

 

Final thoughts….

           Stress interview questions can be similar to behavioural questions. However,

in Stress interviews, questions are purposefully worded or delivered in such a way as to make you uncomfortable and often delivered in an aggressive manner to put you on the spot, confuse or frustrate you. 

           

          These questions are incredibly difficult to answer but always remember how you react is more important than the answer you give. 

 

No matter how hard the process has been, always try to end the interview with a positive note. 

 

Frequently asked Stress interview questions

1.     How would you feel if you were rejected in this interview? 2.     Why you have not achieved more in your career? 3.     I don’t understand how you stand out from the other candidates. Please explain. 4.     Tell us something about yourself that is not here on the resume? 5.     Can you explain your answer clearly? 6.     You don’t have relevant experience. Why should we hire you?  7.     How do you feel this interview is going?