Interview Question How Do You Handle Stress?

Interview questions can come in different forms and employers can come in different ways, so don’t be caught off guard when employers ask you questions like this. The motive of the employer when asking this question is to know how you respond to challenging situations and to know if you are capable of managing situations without having a toll on other team members or the organization. So lets’ start with Interview Question How Do You Handle Stress.

Interview Question How Do You Handle Stress?

Strategically analyse how you have handled stressful situations in the past, how you were able to navigate through it and the positive outcome of the situation, it is also important to portray yourself as someone who plans ahead and works in time.

What Is The Motive Of The Employer?

Some positions in an organization involve stress, and so, employers may want to hire the best person that can manage stress without breaking down or reacting to it in a disruptive way. Therefore, the employer does not want to make the mistake of hiring an employee who:

  • Gets irritated and frustrated when stressed 
  • Allows stress to overwhelm him/her and eventually break down 
  • Destructively react to stress rather than constructively.
  • Procrastinate and at the end of the day put him/herself under stress because of meeting the target
  • Wants to hear your opinion of stress and how well you’re able to manage it.

How Employers Expect You To React To Stress

There are certain responses that an employee can give to this question without trying to shy away from stress or acting like a robot or giving vibes of emotional stress. Employers expect you to react to stress in the following way; 

  • Avoids stress by planning and acting on the plans immediately
  • Can work under pressure by maximizing healthy stress and making a productive impact
  • Take stress as an advantage to expand their capacity
  • Maintain healthy lifestyle
  • When stress becomes overwhelming, one  can take a break and return to work after unwinding

Tips On How To Answer, How Do You Handle Stress?

  • Focus on stress that is not caused by you
  • Use stories to explain how you have been able to manage a stressful situation and how it helps your personal growth. 
  • Don’t just answer this question nonchalantly, reflect.
  • Focus on the positive side of stress and not the negative.
  • Don’t go overboard. 

Focus on stress that is not caused by you: Some stresses are caused by us but you don’t have to dwell on self-caused stress. 

Use stories to explain how you have been able to manage a stressful situation and how it helps your personal growth: Use stories to explain a situation of stress and how you were able to manage it and the toll it has on your physical growth. 

Example:In the last company I worked with, I used to finish my project in time and it was well known even to the manager. So, at one time of the month, a senior colleague, the account officer had to finish remitting the money spent during the month it was already the 29th of the month and we were supposed to have a board meeting with a sponsor, we had to work overnight at my place, it was tough working throughout the night because I enjoy having my sleep at night. Even though it affected my mental health the next day, I still had to keep my sanity by going to the gym and taking a nap in the afternoon 

Don’t just answer this question nonchalantly, reflect: Reflect on the question, be transparent and creative about your response

Focus on the positive side of stress and not the negative: Focus on the positivity of stress.

Example:Healthy stress motivates me to forge ahead, work effectively and expand my capacity to produce and beat expectations 

Don’t go overboard

You don’t have to be excessive about the way you present how stress helps you, hit the nail on the head,d and don’t beat around the bush.

Response You Must Never Give To, “How Do You Handle Stress?”

  • I don’t experience stress
  • I used to work under pressure
  • I get overwhelmed by stress that it breaks me down 

I don’t experience stress: As sweet and convincing as this may sound, employers are not expecting you not to experience stress. So, employers will easily deduce you’re not being transparent and that, you’re only after getting the job. 

Another thing you should know is that you’re not a robot, so you can be stressed at some point.

I used to work under pressure: It’s a very nice skill to be able to work under pressure but that is not the question the employer is asking. If you give this response, it means you’re deviating from the question. Instead of saying I used to work under pressure, explain how you can work under pressure.

I get overwhelmed by stress that it breaks me down: As honest as this answer may sound, you must never give this response, it means you’re swelling on the emotional aspect of stress as opposed to the logical aspect you should be dwelling on.

In conclusion

When answering questions like, “how do you handle stress?”, you must be bent on focusing on your strengths and not your weaknesses. The logical way of handling stress is by being productive, and presenting yourself as someone who can plan and organize ahead of time so you can mount unnecessary pressure on yourself when you have to meet a target due to procrastination.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q1. What should I say when an employer asks me how I handle stress?

I can handle stress effectively by planning and organizing my project with a deadline in mind.

Q2. Why should be the focus of my answer?

The focus should be on the positive aspect of stress, and how you can manage it.

Q3. What response is very wrong to answer this question?

I don’t experience stress.

Q4. How does my employer expect me to react to stress?

An employer expects you to take healthy stress as an advantage to expand your capacity and maintain healthy boundaries.