Stress Interview
There are several different versions of the stress interview. On the one hand, you may be asked to come into a company only to realize that for the next hour or so, you will be bombarded with a variety of questions that seem nearly impossible to answer. In other cases, a typical face-to-face interview can quickly turn into a stress interview — and then go back to being easygoing. The point of the stress interview is to gauge just that: your ability to handle stress.
Stress interviews can be done on a one-on-one basis or in groups. You could be answering the stress questions of just one interviewer or as many as five. Likewise, you could be sitting alone or with several other applicants for the position. Though many people claim that the stress interview is not a reliable way of measuring one's competence, it is nonetheless used quite often.
In a classic interviewing film made by the U.S. Army, the interviewer asks the interviewee to open a window. The interviewee struggles with the window (which is nailed shut) but has to give up. But the reason for the request by the interviewer wasn't to open the window, but to see how the interviewee reacted under stress. The smartest thing the interviewee could have done was to laugh.
The stress interview is still common in many companies. The employer will line up a bunch of interviewers whose mission is to intimidate you with one purpose: to see how you handle stress. If you find yourself facing several interviewers who stare at you intently or fire questions at a rude and rapid pace, you need to take immediate control of the interview.
Accomplish this by staying calm. Smile at your interviewers. Understand that they are using an interviewing technique that is designed to artificially induce stress in order to gauge your response. Just by becoming aware of the situation and recognizing that a kind of game is being played should help you avoid being derailed. You can play along and try to respond quickly or you can say a polite “excuse me” and ask your interviewers to give you more time to respond. At some point you might say something like, “I recognize that this style of interviewing is a common method for weeding out candidates. I'm curious — is this position or company one that typically operates at a high stress level?” By calling the interviewers out, you can determine if this is really a company where you want to work.
To minimize the chance that you will be surprised by a stress interview, ask for an agenda in advance. Before you walk into the interview room, you want to know who will be interviewing, what their jobs are, who will decide to hire you, and who you would report to if you were hired. Having an agenda will help you focus on the decision-maker or person you're reporting to. It helps you stay calm and in focus. Take questions from everyone but deliver answers to the person who's hiring or to whom you're reporting.
You will probably be introduced to these people and each of the interviewers when you enter the interview room. Before the firing of questions begins, take a moment to place a face with a name. Find out who does what for the company, and decide who the key people in the room are and whom you should try the hardest to impress. Once you've figured this out, you can begin to prioritize the questions that are thrown at you. If your potential future boss and coworker both ask questions at the same time, you'll know which person to answer first.
Applying for a management job, Nancy was being bombarded by a barrage of questions. Deciding to fight back, she stood and began to walk around the room while she talked. She began to feel more at ease, especially since the seated department heads were forced to look up at her. She had turned the tables on them by becoming the dominating power.
Control the interviewers by controlling yourself. Don't try to perform. Be yourself. If they try to stress you purposely, slow down and speak calmly and softly. Take a break and focus on the question.
If the meeting becomes too harsh, the interviewers rude and sarcastic, you must know how to push back. If there's a blackboard, walk to it and start drawing diagrams. Lean forward with your fists on the table and say bluntly, “I'm here to help you solve your problems. If you want to stress me realistically, put one or two problems or challenges you're facing on the table and I'll show you how I'd tackle them. If I can't help you, don't hire me.”
Remember, the point of the stress interview is to disorient you. You will be asked rather forthright questions in a rather forthright manner. Questions will not be spaced out properly, and they may overlap. The key to winning this type of interview is to remain calm under all the pressure. Make a conscious effort to maintain your composure. Always speak in an even, calm voice. Don't let your body language give away the uneasiness you are feeling. Answer each question carefully and to the best of your ability. The best way to think of the stress interview is this: The interviewers are the ones acting unprofessionally and out of control; by remaining calm and unaffected by what's happening in the room around you, you are proving to be the only one in control.
