Recently, large campaigns in the selection of candidates for senior positions or for vacancies of managers, secretaries, call center employees or sales floor operators have increasingly begun to use stress interviews. The purpose of such an interview is to put the applicant in an uncomfortable position for him, create a situation close to a conflict and find out how stress-resistant the applicant is and how he will work in a non-standard environment. If you are applying for one of the above positions or wish to work in law enforcement agencies, be prepared for the fact that you will be able to feel for yourself what it is – a stress interview.
Naturally, no one warns a candidate for a position in advance about conducting such an interview, but there are some points by which you can understand that you are in a conflict interview. So, what should you pay attention to and how to behave correctly in order to soon become a member of the team you have chosen?
If you arrived at the appointed time, and the representative of the campaign is very late, then most likely it is planned, and your behavior is now being closely monitored from the outside. No need to outwardly show your concern – constantly look at the clock or nervously walk down the corridor. It will be right if you, after waiting half an hour, ask the secretary if the interview will take place today or if you should come up another day.
Another situation often encountered in such interviews is that you were invited to the office on time, but your employer does not ask you any questions at all. Don’t feel like you’re being ignored and start talking about yourself uninvited, and at the end of your story, try to turn your monologue into a dialogue by saying, for example: “I’m done. Now I’m waiting for clarifying questions from you”.
At a stress interview, you can artificially create a reverse situation – your interlocutor or interlocutors will speak without silent, they will ask you questions and answer them themselves. At the same time, they will definitely notice that you again have nothing to say. Do not worry and try to remember the questions that you are asked – as soon as silence reigns in the office, begin to calmly give your answers, and it is advisable to start with the first question that was asked. So you will not only confirm your stress resistance, but also show that even in an extraordinary situation your memory does not fail you.
As a rule, conflict interviews ask questions about your shortcomings or about the reasons for your dismissal from your previous job, and they sound something like this: “What duties did you not cope with at your previous job?” or “Name all the reasons why your former boss was unhappy with you”. Don’t take it too emotionally – this is how your future employer tests your ability to present yourself. Be patient and give an unconventional, but correct answer in this case: “My former boss was dissatisfied with my desire to have time to work ahead of schedule, and he also did not like my love of cleanliness at the workplace”. So you will kill two birds with one stone – and answer the question, and veiledly demonstrate your merits.
The last thing that very often infuriates applicants undergoing a conflict interview is questions about personal life, which may not be asked very correctly. Do not succumb to such provocations and, keeping yourself in control, try to laugh it off. If a sense of humor is not your forte, then you can directly ask the interlocutor how the answer about your, for example, not developed personal life, can affect the outcome of the interview.
As a rule, in serious campaigns, at the end of the interview, the applicant is always told that it was a stressful interview, and they apologize for the inconvenience.
