Every person has his/her own way to overcome stress. Some have a really high level of tolerance whereas some can’t stand it at all. Finding a job requires much more than just meeting the qualification and experience requirements. A lot of job today require high level of patience at work. This is why recruiters have now started testing it during the interview itself. The interviews are designed to measure anger, fear, aggression, patience, anxiety and so on. Yes, this is referred to as Stress Interview.

Sometimes the interviewer might place you in a do or die situation in an interview. They try to assess the extent to which you can handle stress situation. They purposely come up with criticisms to your past accomplishments. Here they expect you to tactfully defend yourself with full confidence. Usually stress interview is conducted for positions that require frequent interaction with people and has more pressure on deadlines. There are several ways to fight stress at interviews. Here are a few useful tactics to survive a stress interview.

The Stress Interview: What Is It

and How Can You Survive

• Before entering, take a deep breath and drink glass of water. Don’t rush to meet the interviewer.
• Prepare on every aspect of the position you have applied for. Don’t just groom yourself on what you are good at. Think of the worst case scenarios and look for ways to face it.
• Despite of how harsh the interviewer behaves, keep yourself calm and try not to get distracted.
• Maintain eye contact throughout the interview. Don’t look around when insulted. Face it with confidence and justify yourself.
• Stick up to your viewpoint, don’t get influenced by the interviewer’s criticisms.
• Don’t panic with the tone and pace of the interviewer. Take your time and answer every questions in your own way.
• Don’t take anything personally. Remember that every other candidate will be treated the same way.
• Humor is the best way to ace stress interviews. If you can display this side of yours, nobody can beat you.
• Be careful of your body language throughout the interview. Have a good gesture and maintain it.
• Never use any abusive language in aggression.
• Encounter with your accomplishments and strengths rather than giving up.

Stress interviews are really tough to crack. But having an understanding of the scenario and ways to handle it will help you a lot. The most important thing, stay yourself and don’t get influenced at any point. Be clear with your viewpoint first and try your best to communicate it to the interviewer.