Interview Q How Do You Deal with Stress and Pressure

Interview Q How Do You Deal with Stress and Pressure Our everyday lives are full of stress. Stress comes in many forms, and can be found at your workplace and your home. While we all experience stress, how you deal with it is what really sets you apart. Someone who is cool under fire is a huge asset in almost any situation. This is also why its a popular topic for interview questions. Under Pressure To begin to answer this question, you have to understand stress. Many people believe stress is only a negative force. While stress is commonly negative, it can also be positive. Bad stress is stress that stems from anything  without urgency or serious importance, like forces out of your control. Good stress is best described as a motivator. It also usually ties into productivity. If you stress about a deadline, it motivates you to complete the task on time. Some people get overwhelmed by good stress. This is the kind of person you dont want working for you. Interviewers are looking for someone who is calm, cool, and collected under pressure. They also want to know how you manage your stress. While you may not actively realize how you manage it, we all do. A great example mentioned previously is time sensitive stress. In this case, having a good time management system is helpful. If you keep a calendar, or utilize reminders, youll stay on track. Any way in which you cut down on your stress is a good point to bring up in an interview. The Test of Stress Another great tactic is to bring up a specific story that addresses you dealing with a stressful situation. In an interview, telling a story has many advantages, and this is a great opportunity to do exactly that. Think of a time that you were extremely stressed, and still achieved success. Its also important that the stress factors present in your example are external. Dont bring up a time you put off a deadline sensitive assignment and scrambled to get it done last minute. This will clearly make you look bad. For example, if you recently took on many new responsibilities in a role or got a promotion, that would be a great example. You could then discuss how you systematically figured out a new system to stay on top of things. If youre able to do something well that most workers stress about, thats also a great point to make. To close, you can always mention how you deal with stress outside the workplace. If you like to run, hike, workout, or watch a movie to de-stress it can be a great way to close your answer and show that you are well rounded. Just keep in mind the overall feeling of the interview (professional vs. casual) should  determine if this is a good way to finish your answer. Stress is something that can easily sneak up on you. Knowing how to deal with stress and overcome  it before it overwhelms you  is a great talent that any company would like their employee to have. Follow the above advice and youll be a stress expert, ready to tackle any related question.