Employers want to know how you handle stress at work.
According to a survey conducted by isolved, a human resources software company, 65% of employees said they suffered from burnout last year. In addition, 72% of employees admitted to burnout impacting their performance. The stress and burnout epidemic is real. That’s one reason employers often ask interviewees, “How do you handle stress?” Other versions of this question include, “How do you operate under pressure?” and “How do you prevent a situation from getting too stressful to manage?”
Because chronic work stress continues to skyrocket, companies want to ensure that their employees can face challenging situations head-on. When asking, “How do you handle stress?” hiring managers learn many things, including:
The key is to show that you can deal with stress constructively and be a long-term asset to the company. These tips will help you effectively answer the question, “How do you handle stress?” and ultimately land the job.
If you respond by saying, “I never get stressed,” the recruiter will know you’re not being truthful. After all, everyone experiences work stress at one time or another. Instead, be positive and authentic. When sharing specific examples, focus on how you leveraged your problem-solving skills to succeed. Use your answer to show the value you’ll bring to the organization. Putting a positive spin on a bad situation will show that you are self-aware and set you apart from other candidates.
Before your interview, think of moments when you faced a stressful situation at work. Ask yourself questions like:
Then, list skills you used to overcome the high-pressure scenario. Some examples of transferable skills include a strong work ethic, time management, communication, resilience and teamwork. Then, craft a structured response using the power of storytelling. The STAR method is beneficial for behavioral questions:
Situation: set the scene for the story
Task: outline what your objective was
Action: describe what actions you took
Result: conclude your answer with a positive outcome
Demonstrate how stress motivated and inspired you to take action. Also, remember to end your story with lessons learned. That way, you can focus not only on results but also on your ability to grow professionally.
Customizing your response will make it that much more powerful. As you prepare for your interview, research the company culture. Is it an organization that focuses on teamwork and collaboration or individual results? Do leaders encourage innovation, or do they value structure and stability? Those answers will help you identify examples of stressful situations that are relevant to the job you’re seeking. Most importantly, share stories highlighting the stressors you’re most likely to encounter in your new role.
As you think about your stories, try to focus on the positive while explaining how you overcame obstacles. Here are a few examples to inspire you:
I find that stress motivates me to do my best work. For example, my manager recently gave me a last-minute high-profile assignment. Instead of panicking, I decided to use my organization and planning skills to prioritize what needed to be addressed first. By reorganizing my other tasks, I found time to address all elements of the project. Because I stayed calm and focused, I delivered everything needed before the deadline.
When I find myself in a stressful situation, I try to focus on the task at hand. For example, I recently had to deal with an angry customer. Instead of getting upset, I used my communication skills to calm him down so we could find common ground. Then, I was able to troubleshoot the issue by engaging another team member to help. Ultimately, the client was satisfied with the result and even gave us a stellar review.
As a manager, I’ve come to terms with the fact that some amount of stress is part of the job. For example, one of my team members recently quit. Since she didn’t give me much notice, I had to work quickly to redistribute her workload. Because I practiced stress reduction techniques like exercise and meditation, I was able to stay calm and focused. That way, I was able to provide support to the rest of my team while delegating work to the right individuals. I also managed to draft a job description and get it posted to multiple sites within a day or two. Now, I have a short list of very qualified external candidates as well as a few internal employees who are interested in the position.
Even if you’re not a firefighter or paramedic, most employees need a certain tolerance for stress to remain productive. Employers don’t expect you not to experience stress. They want to know that you can work efficiently and employ effective coping techniques despite it.
