Under Pressure!
Ramesh and Kala are very good friends and are preparing to get into one of the business schools. Kala is an engineering graduate with no work experience while Ramesh is a Business Administration graduate with three years of work experience. As the MBA entrance exams draws close, Ramesh asks Kala if she has been preparing for MBA interviews. He comes to know that Kala is unaware of stress interview questions:
Ramesh: Kala, MBA entrance examinations are around the corner. Have you been preparing for the Personal Interviews that follow?
Kala: I haven’t really given much thought to that because I have been very busy preparing for the entrance examinations.
Ramesh: I thought so too, but you have no experience facing interviews. So, I think it’s about time that you start focusing on preparing for the interviews too.
Kala: But we had been practicing how to appear interviews when I graduated out of college. However, I don’t think that would suffice the purpose at hand, would it?
Ramesh: No, it would not. Mock interviews in colleges are not even remotely close to what you will face. I have heard that the top business schools subject the aspirants to very difficult interviews. I have even heard that some institutes even resort to stress interviews to decide on their choice of candidates.
Kala: What are stress interviews? This is the first time I’m hearing about them. How are they different from regular interviews? Are the stress interview questions very difficult?
Like Kala, there are many MBA aspirants who have no clue about the interviews. However, Personal Interviews are very important. Along with preparing for entrance examinations, it is also essential that the students prepare for important interview skills, especially for stress interviews.
What is a stress interview?
Most MBA aspirants do not know what to expect in personal interviews. However, the prospect of stress interviews can turn into a nightmare. The reason is that most of the students have no idea what a stress interview is. They say that to defeat an enemy in a battle, the most important part is to know your enemy well. Similar is the case with stress interviews – to successfully crack one, you must understand what a stress interview is. So, first, let us get a basic idea of what stress interviews actually are.
The primary aim of a stress interview is to test the ability to handle stress and often, bad and awkward behaviour of interviewers. The purpose of stress interview questions is to see how well the candidate can perform when they are subjected to stress or out-of-the-ordinary situations. Stress interviews helps the interviewers analyse whether the candidates can maintain their calm and composure when faced with awkward and often, difficult situations. In order to create an environment of stress and to intimidate the candidate, the interviewers often asks aggressive and intrusive questions, or behaves in the most unexpected ways. The interviewer may also resort to asking questions in the form of puzzles to test the presence of mind of the candidates. The candidate may also be asked the same questions repeatedly to make him feel that he has not answered the questions correctly.
What is the need for stress interviews
Most major business schools conduct stress interviews for executive MBA programs. This helps them to find out whether or not the candidate will be able to perform under stress. The students in top business schools often face multitudes of pressures and performance stress in academics. The primary aim of the interviewer in conducting a stress interview is to find out whether the candidate will be able to survive the pressure. Moreover, stress interview questions also help the interviewers evaluate if the candidates can maintain their composure when faced with awkward or difficult situations.
How to find out whether you are facing stress interview questions
Most candidates are caught off guard by the interviewers whenever they are facing questions in an interview, especially IIM interview questions. If the candidates are unaware about the concept of a stress interview, then they often end up making mistakes. This mistakes often lead to the dismissal of the candidates or often, the rejection of their candidature. However, there are many indicators from which you can infer that you are being subjected to stress interview questions. Here are some common indicators which can be of immense help to candidates:
- The interviewer behaves in an aggressive or arrogant manner
- They pretend that they are not interested in your answers
- There is no direct eye contact and pretends to look elsewhere while you talk
- Panel continues interrupting you while you are talking
- Interviewer displays a hostile attitude
- Panelists pretend that they failed to listen to you
- The interviewer seems to take long, awkward pauses between questions
- The interviewer keeps on taking notes during the interview while ignoring you
- Selector asks intrusive questions
- Interviewer keeps on repeating the same questions over and over
- Interviewer disagrees with all your opinions
- The interviewer passes snide comments about your responses
Tips to handle stress interview questions
There is not much you can do when you are faced with a stress interview. However, the key to cracking stress interviews is to maintain your calm and your composure throughout the interview. Do not lose your cool at any point during the interview. That is exactly what the interviewer needs you to do if he wants to reject your candidature. The moment you lose your cool, the moment you get angry, you will be disqualified. Remaining composed and maintaining your calm are the key weapons to cracking a stress interview.
Here are some more valuable pointers which can help you crack the stress interview questions successfully.
Maintain the structure of your thoughts
Always listen to the interviewer’s question, contemplate over it, put your thoughts in order, and then answer the question. Never rush into answering the question. A structured response is always better than a quick jumbled response.
Be assertive, not aggressive
Whenever you are confident about your answer, never shy away from conveying your opinions to the interviewer. But always remember, there is only a fine line between being confidently assertive and being aggressive. The key in stress interviews is to be assertive and confident and never be aggressive while answering the questions.
Always be open to accepting your mistakes
When you are faced with a stress interview, there are chances that you will make a mistake. In such a situation, the best course of action is to accept your mistakes graciously. Do not be defensive, rather accept your mistake and then ask permission to correct it.
Take a stand for what you believe
While faced with a stress interview, the interviewer will often try to deviate you from the answers. This is for testing your confidence. However, when you are confident about the answer, do not be shaken by the interviewer’s attempts. Rather, take a stand for what you believe, repeat the facts, and arrive at the answer that you have planned.
Be objective
In stress interviews, the interviewer may try to sway your confidence by asking your opinion of events. However, as long as you have your facts right, don’t be swayed by the interviewer’s interruptions. Even if you must state an opinion, be sure to back it up with credible facts and reasoning. One of the trickiest part in stress interviews is when you have to make assumptions. In case you must resort to making assumptions, always state to the interviewer clearly that you are making an assumption and explain it further as and when required.
Express gratitude at the end of the interview
At the end of the interview, be it any interview, especially a stress interview, always thank the interviewer. Thank the interviewer sincerely with a smiling face, and remember – always maintain eye-contact.
Always remember, PATIENCE IS THE KEY.
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