Handling The Stress Interview

Sometimes the interview scenario just isn’t challenging enough, and so someone somewhere decided to put the pressure back……welcome to the stress interview.

In a way, every interview is a stress interview. Most people feel at least a little stressed heading into an interview. But this is different. This is an interview purposefully designed to try and put you under pressure, and test how you respond

What’s the point of it all?

In Pressure jobs such as sales one of the core competencies of the job will be to survive, even thrive, under pressure. If you are after a career in a profession like these you know that every day is a pressure situation. So does your interviewer. They want to see what you are made of

Here are some of the things you might come up against;

• Being rude/putting you down/behaving uninterested

• Interrupting you

• Disagreeing with you

• Playing the role of bad cop

• Putting you on the spot (eg“sell me this pen!”)

• Asking tough interview questions • Asking you to give a presentation Any of the above could throw you off track, if you aren't ready for them. When you’re facing the stress interview you need to remember the golden rules;

It’s all part of the game

The interviewer doesn’t hate you. And I’m sure they are not rude in real life either. It’s a test. Some of your competition may fall to pieces. You wont. Your ability to handle pressure is just another reason why you are right for the job.

Stay calm

Be prepared. You need to think about how you will demonstrate you can cope under pressure, and try and anticipate what will come up. This is a lot easier once you have the right job interview information. The aim of the stress interview is to see if you can be thrown off your game. Focus on delivering a great interview. With the right preparation and by presenting yourself well, you will be fine.

Believe in yourself

Confidence is the key to coming through the stress interview. Remember you wouldn’t be there if they didn’t believe you were capable – you just have to show them you are. For more on interview confidence – click here

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