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What is a stress interview?

A stress interview is an interview in which the interviewer tries to discomfort the candidate in different ways by observing how he reacts to different situations. It is often based on real, practical, unavoidable realities of a job. It is considered as a test of the jobseeker's behaviour, logic and emotional control under pressure.

What is the purpose of a stress interview?

There are different reasons why an interviewer might decide to use a stress interview to find the right candidate:

• to intimidate the candidate and keep him off-balance;
  
• to find out how the candidate deals with stress and handles pressure;
  
• to find personnel who can deal with lots of pressure and that well;
  
• to weed out those that cannot handle adversity;
  
• to find out how a candidate reacts, speaks and answers under pressure;
  
• to find out whether the candidate can take criticism;
  
• it gives the interviewer a realistic sense of the candidate's response to difficult situations. Using a standard set of questions wouldn't reflect the same experience.
  

The indicators of a stress interview

Imagine … tomorrow you are going to a job interview and the interviewer is behaving similar like this:

• he avoids eye contact;
  
• he doesn't react after you extended your hand;
  
• he pretends to fall asleep; (no joke!)
  
• he rolls his eyes;
  

he reads the newspaper or your resume and doesn't say a word;

• he sighs at your answers;
  
• he turns his back;
  
• he interrupts you;
  
• he criticizes you;
  
• he takes phone calls during the interview;
  
• he puts pressure on you;
  
• he disagrees with you;
  
• he brings up an argument;
  
• he becomes aggressive and tries to ask questions in a demeaning way;he asks questions so quickly that you wouldn't have time to answer each one;
• he makes you wait long for interview and see if you become impatient;
• he tries to respond to your answers with silence;
  
• he asks you to hold a presentation (this might often be a part of this kind of interview. This approach can usually be found in academic, teaching, training, airline and legal circles);
  
• he asks questions about handling work overload, dealing with multiple projects and handling conflict;
  
• or he doesn't ask you any questions at all (he remains silent and takes some notes about how you are reacting when various questions are being asked);
  
• he gets YOU to ask the questions by saying, for example "What do you want to know?" or "What can we do for you?";
  
• he lets his Personal Assistant interrupt him for mundane matters;
  
• he invites you into a conference room and tells you to "sit anywhere". (Once you do, the interviewer asks you "Why did you sit there?" Tables in most conference rooms are rectangular or oblong. Do you choose to sit at the 'head of the table' or not at the head of the table? The interpretation is that wolves sit at the head of the table and sheep along the sides. Remember, the job position might be for a wolf!)
  

It could also be that the interview is conducted by a group of people, not just one interviewer. In that case they might …

• interview you at the same time, taking turns grilling you;
  
• enter the interview room taking turns without allowing you to relax or giving you a break;
  
• ask you situational questions, riddles etc.;
  
• cut you off before you can even finish your answers.
  

Questions you may encounter …

• If you caught a colleague cheating on his expenses, what would you do?
• How do you feel this interview is going?
• Well, if that's the best answer you can give ... (the interviewer shakes his head) Okay, what about this one ...?"
• What would you change about the design of the hockey stick?
• I don't feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter here. Start again - tell me what really makes you tick.
• I find it difficult to believe, that you were responsible for as large a program as you claim here on your resume. Why don't you just tell me what you really did?
• What percentage of the Earth's water is contained in a cow?"
• I am sure you are hiding something from me. Are you sure you did not get sacked from your previous job?
• Is that all you can come up with? Let's move on.
• How do you like me so far?
• How would you handle a situation where you knew that your boss fiddled his expenses?
• This job is too difficult for you. You are more suited to lower functions.
• I don't think you will fit this position.
• You don't know anything, so I am not sure how you completed your studies.
• What would you do if you caught a fellow employee stealing?
• If you continue like this you will fail the test.

Some examples

In engineering, a qualified candidate was asked to draw a simple circuit. After completing the task, the interviewers reacted by saying

"You call that a cell?"

A bad reaction would be: "How dare you ask me something like that; I have two PhDs!" Looking confused or trying to change the drawing would also be interpreted as bad.

A good reaction would be to stand back and calmly say: "This is a human cell to the best of my understanding."

The thought behind it…

It's not a matter of being able or not to draw a circuit but rather to see how the candidate reacts to the situation.

• Lehman Brothers: Interviewers at Lehman Brothers were used for asking the job applicant to open a window. This was a casual request made just as the interviewer excused himself to take a call in another room. This company interviewed in a skyscraper office where the windows didn't open. Apparently there was one candidate who opened the 43^rd window by tossing a chair through it.

• Goldman Sachs: They ask candidates the puzzle about weighing eight balls to find the heavier one.
  

• Smith Barney: asks how to measure 4 gallons of water with 3-and 5-gallon containers.

Tips on how to stay calm in a stress interview

It would be a good idea to ask for an interview agenda beforehand. Try to find out who will be in the interview, what role they have, who will decide whether to hire you, who you would have to report to if you were hired etc. Since you also invest time going to the interview you should consider it as your right to know who you are going to meet.

Tip #1: Don't be negative about the fact of taking part in such kind of interview. Realise that you are in the midst of a stress interview. Consider it as an opportunity to rise to the challenge and respond in a confident and professional manner.

Tip #2: Deal with the questions at the interview the same way as you would deal with them on the job. The more realistic you are, the better.

Tip #3: Don't provoke aggression or create conflict.

Tip #4: Don't allow your frustration to take over, behave normally.

Tip #5: Maintain eye contact with the interviewer. Keep your answers short in order not to get interrupted.

Tip #6: Take control of the space around you. You could for example walk up to the flip chart and write some notes on it in order to emphasize your points.

Tip #7: Be straight. If you feel that the interview starts turning into a psychological game you should stand up, lean forward with your fists down on th table and say to the interviewer: "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 on this level, you shouldn't hire me."

Tip #8: If the interviewer stresses you purposely, slow down and try to speak as calmly and softy as you can.

Tip #9: Remember it's not the interviewer's question that is important but the quality of your answers. Therefore take a breath and focus on the question.

Tip #10: Sometimes questions don't have a correct or wrong answer. Remember that the interviewer might just want to see how you are dealing the situation.

Tip #11: Don't look too serious or irritated at the interviewer. If the interviewer tries to provoke you, you should not erase the smile on your face.

Tip #12: No matter what the interviewer throws at you, remain cool and calm.

Tip: #13: If the interviewer asks you the same question over and over again, then please be clear on what you say and stick to that. Don't change your answers.
Tip #14: Don't take the interviewer too personal, he is just playing a role in order to get a response out of you. Try to depersonalize the interview and remain detached. Be professional.

Tip #15: Try not to let the interviewer(s) see that you're nervous. Don't give them the opportunity to rule you out from further consideration for the job. This might be what they are looking for.

Tip #16: Don't mirror the interviewer's behaviour by becoming defensive and argumentative. After the interviewer usually the interviewer will revert to his original demeanour.

Tip #17: If you don't know the answer to a question, you could say (smiling) "Wow, that's a good question. That's something that I'd like to think about." In that case you would diffuse the whole problem.

A personal thought: Would you say that stress interviews are effective? To be honest - I would prefer to put a candidate "on the job" for an entire day and see how he would perform during that time. I think that might give the interviewer a better idea as to how he would manage certain situations when being under pressure. So watch out! Also for this kind of interview preparation is key.

Image credits: Finsec, Jacob Botter, Conorwithonen, Slushpup