How do you handle stress and pressure?
The interviewer is looking to see how you cope when things are not so straightforward which happens in every business either ad hoc or frequently.
Do you think you can cope? Answer honestly.
How do you cope with stress?
In stressful situations its always important to take a moment to think and prioritize what needs to be done first. If there is time you can make a quick list and tick things off a list. In these times its important to stay calm and almost ignore the pressure around you by focusing on the job you need to do.
The trick is not to let the stress get to you, not to be negative but rather turn it into a positive and a challenge.
Questions you may get asked:
Can you tell me of a time where you had significant stress and how did you handle this? Do you thrive on pressure? How do you cope with many demands on your time at once? What causes you stress at work and why? The interviewer will be looking to see if you can identify that:
Stress and pressure are an every day part of life That you understand the effect of stress and pressure on yourself That you are able to deal with it and take it in your stride? Most jobs at some stage or another have stressful elements to them just remember that the stress always ends and its how you cope during the middle of it that is important.
Good luck.
I am quite an easy going person and I don’t allow myself to get stressed out at work, I find it makes situations worse by doing so. I let myself take a breather from the task for a few mins and come back to it.
This is a very annoying question! and one of the ones i dread at interviews. Its fine if you are looking to move from one job to another, but for someone (not me fortunatly) who is without work, or is a young person just starting out, you may not have a working example you can use. In which case try and think of a situation somewhere else? – perhaps you volunteer somwhere (sports club? church?) try and thing of something there that you deal with that could be stressful
An important question. Answer carefully.