How to answer the “How do you handle stress and pressure?” question in interviews
While it is important to learn how to answer this question, knowing how to handle and overcome work stress and pressure is critical for professional and personal development.
I want to share with you a proven set of strategies that you can actually utilize to help you handle work stress and discuss during interviews.
“I organize myself regularly” - use a journal or spreadsheets to keep track of important projects, goals, plans, ideas, thoughts, notes and events in one place
“I choose to work closely with others” - learn to work closely with others in your team and managers to brainstorm and solve problems together
“I meditate and take time to relax” - even a quick daily 5-minute meditation can help you decompress and relax your mind, body and nerves significantly
“I regularly exercise” - exercise can help your energy level and help take on challenges with more enthusiasm and excitement
“I read books” - reading books helps you calm your nerves and can provide knowledge to take on tough challenges
Some of them you may be already doing and that's great! Make a list of things you are doing to help you manage stress and plan to discuss them in interviews.
Use this example to model your answers:
“So Dulik, how do you manage your stress and pressure at work?”
“I have about three strategies that I use to manage stress. Not only have these strategies helped me manage stress effectively, they have helped me achieve my professional and personal goals faster as well.
“First, I take time to organize myself effectively. I regularly use journals and google sheets to keep track of important projects, goals, plans, events, and ideas to keep them in one place.
“Another strategy I used to manage stress is to learn to work with others closely to solve problems. I learned earlier in my career that we are much stronger as a team in order to solve key problems in business and life. I regularly converse with coworkers about issues that I am experiencing, and work with them to solve them. I, in turn, help them when they have issues and are looking for solutions. Knowing I have a team to back me up brings confidence and strength to complete my work effectively without stress.
“Another strategy that helps me deal with stress and pressure is reading books. Reading physical books has helped me calm my nerves and provide me knowledge to handle professional and personal challenges effectively. Recently, I read a study that shows that even reading for a short amount of time can significantly reduce stress.
“These are my three favorite strategies to handle stress and pressure. I’d love to know if you have any good ones that you can recommend for me?”
That’s it for from me!
Much love!
