Introduction to Stress Interview
When you face an interview board, you sweat from tip to toe, and the mind gets blank. And naturally so as this whole interviewing process is a horrifying thing especially for the aspirants who have recently come out of their student life to face the real world. But experts say no stress interview or high-stress interview situation can shatter you if you are good.
Stanford psychologist and author Dr. Kelly McGonigal gave a startling message in his book “Stress Isn’t Bad For Us!” Dr. Kelly says, instead of discarding the stress use it to improve your life. If you are facing a stressful moment, use the same to get the courage to pursue what matters most. In fact, Robert C Daugherty, chairman of knowledge and investment partners evokes the sentiment of aspirants, “Stress is a life secret ingredient”. And he is right, stress is something so secretly ingrained in your body that no other person can discover except but you. However, there are moments, when you ought to get stressed but you have to come out of it.
As said by Tennessee Williams, “A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace”. It is such a beautiful quote that I could not resist but to add here to reveal that no difficult situation or stress can stop any person, you or me to reach the station of our lives but for that, we have to fight it with grace. Here you have to fight with yourself to counter these stress interview. But how to do it, simply drink at least two glass of water, chat with the other contestants and tell funny anecdote/s.
Some Tips for you to follow while in a Stress Interview
Below are the tips to follow in a stress interview:
#1 – Stress Interview – Do Not Panic
No matter in whatever way your interview panel is riding you with many of the wall stress interview questions, or making you stand in a room that’s overly warm, retain your composure. There are so many things also that can be done before the interview which can make you rid of your nervousness. Remember those days when you would perform school plays and at that time to you know that eating before going to stage or doing any highly stressed works can get you jittery.
Also, avoid drinking coffee, instead get ready to prepare yourself for the stress interview, perform some breathing exercises and spend some time preparing for it. And when you ultimately face the interview board, greet them with your smile, introduce yourself, sit comfortably and look in their eyes. Keep your mind clear of all the doubts and always remember that the people who are taking your interview are themselves human beings, they only want to judge your potentials and know more about you. Try to charm them with good words and create an atmosphere cool with light humor.
#2 – Stress Interview – Be True To Yourself
Give your nervousness a new twist, make it energetic, and learn to use it as a motivator. Get up to a great beginning by dressing adequately and make sure that you have groomed perfectly well. During the interview rounds speak energetically, this would make listening interesting and you won’t mumble too. Good voice volume and inflection can get your ideas to come alive. Learn also to converse with gestures and give emphasis on the key points. We make a gesture during a normal routine, but while giving an interview, we forget about it. Try to display the personality that shows you the kind of person you are, whether you are a go-getter, motivator, quite a person or a talkative, let them see who you are.
#3 – Stress Interview – Always remember they want you
Keep in mind that you have gone for the interview as they are more desperate to appoint you than you are to seek the job. They have already seen your skills, but now they would like to know more about you and the quality that makes you different. Make sure that you know the attributes you have and learn to strongly display the same. Once you are on your heels, you will soon feel, you have gotten rid of all the stress and you are motivated to take on any challenge.
#4 – Stress Interview – Refrain Yourself from getting offended
Suppose you get the stress interview questions that you feel might be offended by nature, do not show any aggression nor be offended as it would go against you. The interview panel wants to check your capability to handle the criticism and how well you can fight against the odds. They can ask you stress interview questions that might be too difficult for you to answer but keep your mind cool. Always remember no matter how long and how much you wanted the job, it is the only opportunity that you would get. So try to answer their questions very strategically and articulately and even though you do not know the answer, tell them politely. No man is perfect and even an interviewer may not be having knowledge of many things that you know.
The stress is also attributed to the fact that you have not practiced for the interview. A successful interview largely depends on the time that you have placed beforehand. You can and should try to cultivate your interview skills as much as possible. Practice for the interview while standing in front of the mirror and paying special attention to your facial expression, posture and eye contact.
#5 – Stress Interview – Keep yourself well targeted
Handling stressful situations also means you have the capability to impress the interviews by the words you say and the way you talk. Long-winded responses can be difficult to keep on track. Organize your talking points in a way that would help you to remember the same. Know about the main points that you wanted to tell during the time of the interview. Note these points down and keep on analyzing them. Lengthy or tedious responses can cause departure from the main aim or a goal, and the same tangents can be tedious or wordy. Learn to give short and to the point answers that are best understood, keep the conversation cool and you would also feel comfortable.
#6 – Stress Interview – Study well about the company
Candidates are nervous because they are not familiar with the company and the interview panelists, and how they would ask stress interview questions. The best is to show your familiarity with the position and organization by studying thoroughly about the company. Also, prepare the questions that you would ask the interview panelists, two or three insightful questions on the role of the employer can make a lot of difference.
#7 – Stress Interview – Give strategic respond to stress interview questions
Make use of the same strategies for answering the stress interview questions that are used during the salary negotiation. If you are not clear on the questions asked, get it clarified, this could get you some moments to think about the possible answer that you can give. Try to understand the motive of the interviewer and do not feel regret about asking any question to get clarity, this is what interview expects from you too. Secondly, by asking the question you will also feel composed, and then it would be interviewees turn to answer your query.
Speak up whatever you thinking, your ideas, and where you are currently occupied, and show that you are trying to solve the problem even the same might not be the right answer. And in case you are answering the stress interview questions by telling about your past incident or a story, do not go out of the track.
#8 – Stress Interview – Keep on smiling all through the interview
Keep on smiling during the interview process, but change the expression if there is a discussion on a serious issue. Smiling is a motivator and shows you as an optimistic and person having a positive outlook towards life. This means you are not only giving positive responses but also giving the impression that you are a compassionate person and anybody would be lucky to work with you. Allow the first impression that your interviewers would have of you is of the warmth that is seen from your personality.
Find out what a smile can do for you!
- A good smile tells the people who you are and shows you a cheerful person who is confident, smart, warm, trustworthy, and above all, you are any time open for discussion and is easily reachable. These are the qualities that companies are always looking forward to in their employees.
- Studies have found that even if you have made a minor mistake but your smile can ease the environment and can motivate the team and the seniors to rectify it. A smile can even win over your opponents to your stride. It tells the people that you are aware you have made a mistake, but you can move on. When you feel you are slipped or made some mistake, merely ignore it by giving a pleasant smile.
- A single smile creates a congenial and very pleasing atmosphere. So if you also want that your interviewer should relax and also enjoy your interview, always remember to smile. You may find that the whole atmosphere of the interview room has become very pleasant and you would feel motivated to talk to the panelists.
That’s quite true that a genuine smile can make you play the interview ball on the same level yet it is always suggested not to push too much into it. A smile should genuinely come but not faked as a false smile can prove to be detrimental to your interview. In fact, studies have also found that the human body can easily recognize a fake smile as many different facial muscles are generated to get an artificial smile as a contrast to a natural smile. A forced smile masked negative emotion and you could get an opposite reaction to what all you have been expecting for. With a false smile, an interviewer might feel uncomfortable that might create a negative impression of you so it is always best to relax and keep a natural smile.
#9 – Stress Interview – Do some Breathing exercise
It is scientifically proved that deep breathing reduces stress. If ever, a person is under stress his pattern of breathing changes. Generally, an anxious person takes very small and shallow breaths, by making use of the shoulders instead of the diaphragm to help move air in and out of the lungs. This kind of breathing causes disruption to the balance of gasses in the body. Shallow over-breathing or hyperventilation can also increase the feeling of anxiety by making the symptoms of stress worse. (Source: Better Health Channel).
But we can change our breathing styles and patterns, and by controlling our breath we will feel more relaxed. A complete inhale and exhale increases the oxygen level in the blood which could also be very relaxing. When your mind is relaxed, you get clarity of mind and can give fine answers to the stress interview questions.
#10 – Stress Interview – Speak some funny anecdotes
You would say when you are stressed-fearing at the sight of the monster-like interview panelists who are ready with the dragon-like stress interview questions to pierce you, at this moment how could you be humorous. Will, it is not odd to give a punchline when panelists are talking about something very serious? Well, I would say, it depends on your judgment. Of course, stress interview questions are being asked on the natural tragedy and terrorist activities where thousands of people have been killed, how could you add some humor element in it, however, it is a masterful strategy to give an interesting punchline in your comments? The punchlines reflect on your tendency, capability, and skill to generate an idea in an interesting way. Interview panelists will be impressed by the way you clear the stressful situation interestingly. It can also turn any absurd situation upside down, and this is what comedian Tig Notaro did after she found that she is suffering from breast cancer. She worked on her fears and turned the same into positive. (Source: Brandon Specktor, online).
You can add a punchline even to the stress interview questions like how to handle economic crises? This is a serious question but just think about cartoonist how they make a serious topic interesting which people love. By adding punchline you are creating an impression of your intelligence and the twist you can give to the topic. Moreover, humor eases the tensed environment.
No doubt handling the high-stress interview is very difficult but by practice, change your behavior, attitudes and approach you can do it.
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This has been a guide to Not performing well in a stress interview can really hamper your quest in getting your dream job. Here are tips to prepare you well for the day.
