In a stess interview, the interviewee is being screened on his/her powers to handle pressure or unfavorable behaviours. The candidate is exposed to a hostile, disinterested or intimidating interview, whose purpose is to destabilise the prospect. The type of questions or behaviours that you may find during a stress interview include:
- Strange questions: “What percentage of the Earth’s water is contained in a cow?”
- Questioning your honesty:”I am sure you are hiding something from me. Are you sure you did not get sacked from your previous job?”
- Exhibiting contempt: “Is that all you can come up with? Let’s move on”
- Throwing you off balance: “How do you like me so far?”
- Questions on nasty work situations: “How would you handle a situation where you knew that your boss fiddled his expenses?”
- Antagonistic body language: The interviewer is not looking at the interviewee, rolls his eyes, lays back in his chair, takes phone calls in the middle of the interview or gets his secretary interrupt him for common matters
- Quick fire: The interviewers asks questions in quick succession, not letting the candidate complete her or his answers
- Large-scale interview interview panel: The interviewee faces a interviewer of many interviewers (6, 8, 10 or more) who incessantly put questions
- Series of interviewers: Several interviewers come into the room one after the other, leaving no rest time for the prospect.
- Having the interviewee ask the questions: “What might we do for you?”,”What do you want to know?”
Means by which stress interviews might be handled include:
- Depersonalise the process: you must stay focussed on the fact that this is all a game and that the interview panel are only taking on their role to destabilise you. Once you have understood that none of this act is personal, then you may loosen up a bit more.
- Maintain eye contact with the person asking the interview questions and keep your answers compact (typically 20-30 seconds) in order not to become interrupted.
- Try to be yourself. Don’t try to take the bait. Try to talk slower than you usually do so as not to let your frustration subsume you.
- If you feel spirited enough to do this, endeavour to gain control of the space around you. For example, if there is a flip chart, walk up to it and write some points on it to back up your solutions. It will make the interview panel relax.
a stess interview are a semi-sadistic way of recruiting people and there are better ways of determining whether interviewees can cope with stress (such as setting them a task which they should perform under pressure). Nonetheless, if you want that job you must play the game. Even in stress interviews, not all interviewers are like those in the Apprentice. So take things in your stride and give it your best.For more information go to ST interviews
