Stress Interview Tips: Answering Stress Interview Questions

A stress interview is a type of job interview that deliberately puts you under pressure to see how you handle stress. They’re more common in high-pressure job industries—such as intelligence, high-level sales, investment banking, law enforcement, and airline travel—in which employers want to ensure potential employees have the soft skills to handle the strains of the job.

There is debate on the ethical nature of stress interviews. Some theorists argue stress interviews are an effective way to identify the candidates with the best problem-solving abilities, while others argue they create an unhealthy relationship between the interviewee and the company.

There are several different tactics a hiring manager might use in a stress-interview format, including:

• Aggression or rudeness: In especially intense stress interviews, the recruiter might display outright aggression or rudeness, trying to break your composure. These tactics test your ability to deal with difficult customers and clients, simulating the job’s stresses to see how well you would perform.
• Challenging hypothetical questions: The most common stress interview technique is to use difficult hypothetical questions. These come in two different types of questions: questions about how you would handle challenging situations (for example, “What would you say to a customer who accused you of lying?” or “How would you handle a workplace conflict?”) and questions for which you are unlikely to have prepared (for example, “What kind of animal would you be and why?”). Interviewers mean for these stress interview questions to help them judge your ability to think on your feet and quickly solve problems.
• Dismissive behavior: Some hiring managers might try to make the interviewee feel as though they are uninterested in them—for instance, taking calls in the middle of the interview, deliberately using bored or distracted body language, or asking bad or unhelpful questions. These tactics test your patience and your ability to stay calm and unshaken.
• Panel interview: Some companies might use a panel interview format to make you feel extra stressed-out or nervous, pairing you with multiple interviewers to see how you can handle nerve-racking situations, such as large client meetings.
• Roleplay: Some stress interviews might incorporate an element of roleplay into their interview tactics, asking you to perform a mock sales call or sample client session to display your ability to remain flexible and calm.

If you have an interview coming up and you suspect it’s a stress interview, here are some ways to prepare:

• Do mock interviews. The best way to prepare for a stress interview is to practice—that way, you develop your abilities to think under pressure, respond to difficult questions, and remain calm and positive in the face of strain. Ask a friend to simulate a stress interview for you. They should ask you curveball questions so you can practice responding while exercising your stress management skills. Consider recording the interview so you can review it afterward and identify spots for improvement.
• Encourage positive energy. A stress interview is, by nature, a stressful situation, so you want to arrive prepared with as much positive energy and confidence as possible. Before the interview, treat yourself to a kind morning, spend a few minutes conducting positive affirmations or mindful meditation, and don’t forget to take a deep breath. Plan for a relaxing time after the interview, too, to give yourself time to recharge.
• Prepare for some common questions and answers. Like a regular interview, you can prepare for a stress interview by considering some common interview questions and sketching out your sample answers. Examples include: “How do you handle stress?,” “How do you work with tight deadlines?,” “Give an example of a time in a stressful job when you had a conflict with a team member,” “What’s your ideal work-life balance?,” and “How do you manage your stress levels to produce quality work under pressure?”
• Research the company. Very few companies will inform you ahead of time that your upcoming interview is a stress interview—they want to test how you operate under pressure without warning. However, doing a little research before an interview can give you a good sense of what to expect when you go in. Read the job description and look at the company’s website to see if you can find anything about their work environment and company culture—for example, maybe they pride themselves on being high-pressure and fast-paced. In addition, look online for current or past employees’ experiences at work or in the interview process.

Here are a few things to keep in mind once your stress interview begins:

1. 1. Feel free to ask clarifying questions. A stress interview should still be a conversation, rather than an interrogation—just like any interaction with a difficult client. If an interviewer asks a vague or tough question or critiques one of your answers, you should feel free to follow up with a polite request for clarification so you can perform your best.
2. 2. Stay calm and confident. The purpose of a stress interview is to test your ability to stay calm and confident under pressure, so the most important thing to remember during the conversation is just that: to stay calm and confident. Remember a stress interview isn’t a personal attack but an opportunity to show off your qualifications and skills under pressure. Even in the face of aggressive questioning, make eye contact, keep your body relaxed, and smile through the stressors. Maintaining a level of self-awareness can help you keep the interview in perspective.
3. 3. There might not be a “right” answer. One thing that can trip up interviewees in any interview (but especially stress interviews) is their concern about offering the right answer to an interview question. This might cause them to become nervous or struggle to offer any response at all. Remember stress interviews are more about your demeanor than they are about the answers—if they ask you a brainteaser-style question, feel free to pause for a few seconds to consider your response, but don’t worry about finding the one perfect answer.

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