Sipping her coffee slowly, Yvonne was trying to calm her nerves down. Though in a café now, away from the “pressure pot” she had found herself in this morning, she cannot relax as her adrenalin is still running high. A pressure pot because the interview was indeed one of its kind. She was unable to pin point the exact problem. All she knew now was that the interview brought the worst out of her. She felt annoyed because she was made to wait for one and half hours before the interview. She does not understand why her answers were sometimes being cut short and out of the four interviewers, two were specifically brusque and blunt. At the end, she felt she was a victim of a charade and perfectly sure not to have this job if she is offered.

What Yvonne has just experienced may be an extreme example of a stress interview. Not many employers use stress interviews unless it is necessary. Stress interviews are tactics used by some employers or recruiters to gauge how a candidate will handle stress.

Stress interviews can take various forms and some examples are as follows:-

• Long waiting time before the interview.

• Multiple questions were thrown to you very quickly without giving you much time to think through your answers.

• On the receiving end of sarcastic remarks.

• Undermine your beliefs.

• Deliberate misinterpretation of your answers and did not give you time to clarify.

• Interviewed by a panel of more than 3 interviewers and they take turns to grill you.

• Interviewed by different interviewers who take turns coming into the interview room and asking you fairly the same question.

• Ask tough situational questions or give you riddles to solve.

• Cut you off before you finish your sentence.

• Long pause or deliberate uncomfortable silence during the interviews.

Common stress related questions run along these lines…

• Would you like to have my job?

• What would you do if you found out that your colleague has a crush on you?

• You have been in the same job for more than five years without promotion and good salary adjustment? Why is that so?

• Please describe a situation whereby you failed to live up to your boss expectations.

• Sell me this office blinds.

How to handle stress interviews?

• Recognize that you are in the midst of one.

• Stay calm. To let the interviewers know that you are nervous means they are successful in intimidating you.

• Take control. For example, if multiple questions were being thrown to you at the same time, take your time to tell them which question you are going to take on first. Maintain good eye contact with the person that you are replying the question.

• Don’t take the questions personally. Answer as professionally as possible. If the question had crossed the personal line of standard reasonable business behavior, you have every right not to answer.

Not all interviewers agree that stress interviews are to be employed in order to get the right hire. Apart from well-phrased legitimate situational questions, some other tactics can actually back fired. I do not think having hour-long waits before the interview speaks well for the employers. Bear in mind candidates are also making evaluation of the employers and they may think certain tactics used are just lame and unethical.

Good news is that most job seekers will not encounter such interviews. However, it is important to know they exist, and if ever you find yourself in one, you will be more than ready to tackle it.