Stress Management Job Interview Questions & Answers Flashcards
How do you handle stress? Can you describe a time you handled a stressful situation successfully?
‘I think a healthy dose of stress makes me more focused. For example, when I work on multiple projects at the same time, it helps me to stay productive and motivated to keep going. My prioritization and time management skills help me balance work in order to meet deadlines. This is also what keeps me from getting stressed out.
Situation & Task: ‘For example, in my previous position, I was asked to run a project team to develop a sales pitch to persuade a client into using our products. This was a high-pressure situation because there was a three year and multi-million dollar contract on the line. However, we only had five days to develop and present our pitch.
For the organization as well as for me personally, this was an important deal. For me, failure was not an option because it was a unique opportunity.
Action: I assembled a team of the most experienced colleagues. Together with the team, the goals and milestones were determined for each day. After that, I delegated tasks based on the knowledge and experience levels of each team member.
Result: I distributed the responsibilities according to experience and knowledge levels, so everyone on the team was aware of his or her responsibilities. Furthermore, everybody was aware of the importance of this deal. Even though the project required the maximum of everybody on the team, we delivered everything on time.
The client told us that he was impressed by our effort within the time constraint. We landed the deal, which was a great achievement for everybody on the team. It was an effort that could not have been made without the people on it.’
How do you adjust to changing situations that you have no control over?
Situation: ‘In my previous job, my supervisor had to unexpectedly leave for three months due to a medical condition.
Task: Because of this unexpected situation, our boss asked me to step in as an interim manager for our team. I was familiar with the basics of management and what my manager was looking for in our team because I worked with him for a couple of years. However, I was not trained to be a team manager yet.
Action: I saw this as a great opportunity to reach a career goal, which was becoming a team manager. I enjoy challenges and was confident enough. At that time, I thought I could do it. I organized a meeting with the team and explained the situation. Also, I asked them to work together as well as possible and that we had to get through this period together. Furthermore, I asked another manager to coach me during the process to make sure I would learn on the job.
Result: We managed to get through the three months very well, and all the projects were finished on time. When my manager returned, he was very pleased with the work the team delivered, and I even got compliments from our director. My performance led to me being promoted to team manager myself at the end of that year.’
Frequently Asked Stress Management Job Interview Questions
Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict within the team. How did you handle it? What was the result?
How do you adjust to changing situations that you have no control over?
Tell me about a time when you were late to complete a task, or you missed a deadline.
How do you handle stress in fast-paced work environments?
Tell me about a time when you had to perform a task in which you had little or no experience in doing. How did you approach this situation, and what did you learn.
Describe a time you had to solve a challenging problem at work.
Tell me about a time when you had an unexpected event that required you to adjust your priorities.
Tell me about a situation where you had to complete a challenging task to a tight deadline.
Read more about commonly asked interview questions here.
