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Most commonly used in investment banking, stress
interviewing is the deliberate creation of an uncomfortable situation in
order to test how the candidate reacts to pressure. The ethics of this
kind of interviewing are questionable, and it is far from certain that
the stress created is similar to what would occur on the job. However,
it's also true that one person's stress situation is another person's
fair, if tough, question.
Some of common examples of stress-creating
techniques are:
- The interviewer doesn't say anything for the first five or ten
minutes of the interview.
- The interviewer is reading the paper when the candidate comes
into the room.
- The interviewer asks a tough question right off the bat, without
even introducing himself.
- The interviewer challenges your answer by disagreeing with you.
- The interviewer pauses for a long time after listening to your
response.
- The interviewer ridicules your background.
- The interviewer takes you into a department meeting with no
introduction.
- The interviewer is deliberately very late, then keeps looking at
his or her watch.
- The interviewer pretends to fall asleep.
How might you handle such a situation, if you
still want the job?
If the interviewer ignores you when you walk in the
room, just dive in with something like, "I'd like to take this
opportunity to introduce myself and tell you why I think I'm the right
person for this job." After a long pause, you might say, "Perhaps I
didn't make myself clear." Then explain your previous response.
font class="text" If the manager ridicules your background, you could
say, "Perhaps you expected different qualifications, but these have
served me well so far and I intend to continue to build on them."
If the manager thrusts you into a department meeting
without an introduction, just introduce yourself and ask the other
people for their names, then explain that you are happy to meet them and
learn more about the department.
If the interviewer pretends to fall asleep, write a
note saying, "I enjoyed meeting you," put it in front of the
interviewer, and rise to leave. Chances are, you'll get the
interviewer's full attention.
The important thing, if you're unfortunate enough to
encounter this form of interviewing, is to keep your cool, maintain your
dignity, and find a way to use the situation to your advantage. |
