If you don’t handle pressure or stress well, now is not the time to reveal that. Take a crash course in handling it. Honesty is the best policy in interviews. Honestly, if you can’t handle pressure or stress then you don’t belong in the work place.
The question is asked for exactly the reason it seems. The interviewer wants to know how well you handle pressure and stress. Give a positive answer, along with a real world example of how you’ve handled stress in the work place.
Embrace Them:
“Pressure and stress are part of the working world. I thrive under pressure. I bend, work harder, but I don’t break.”
Avoid Them:
“I plan and react to situations, not to pressure and stress. The best way to handle them is to deflate them as quickly as possible with calm, diligent work. One step at a time.”
They Improve Me
“I do my best work under pressure or in a stressful environment.”
Channel Them
‘That’s why I box. At the end of a work day I take it out on the punching bag.”
Management
“Stress and pressure are often caused by a lack of communication or a clear understanding of a task. I make sure to communicate with my superiors, colleagues and staff so that we’re on the same page. That way we all know what to expect, and things don’t get tense.”
Types of Examples:
Deadline Changed
“One Friday the boss let us know the deadline had changed from the following Friday to the following Monday. I got him to buy lunch, dinner and late night snacks over the weekend, so that the team and I could get the job done on time.”
Someone Dropped the Ball
“One of our producers completely missed a deadline. I was waiting on that work to start my part of the project. I sat down with her and helped her finish her part, in return for her helping me with mine. We finished all the work ahead of schedule.”
Non Specific Example:
“When things get really tense I huddle with my co-workers and figure out how to improve the situation. Sometimes it means a few extra hours for everyone, but we know going in. Knowing is half the battle.”
Avoid this answer, given by a woman who didn’t get the job. “When things get tough, I usually retreat to the restroom for a good cry.”