Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
How do you handle a challenge? Give an example.
What do you do if you disagree with someone at work?
Have you handled a difficult situation? How?
Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
Describe a time when you were faced with problems or stresses at work that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
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Workplace stress is an issue for everyone. Don't pretend that you never get stressed out. You want to show that you can deal with stress and cope with difficult situations.
Show that you are calm under pressure and know how to avoid stress in the first place through planning and time management.
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Well I think it is important to remember that stress effects everyone, and it is inevitable that sometimes people are going to have bad days. That is why I try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they seem to have a short fuse.
What I do personally is try to control my response to a situation. You can't necessarily control what happens to you, but you CAN control your own response. What I try to do is lengthen the time between the stressful situation and my response — so that I can identify the cause of the stress and decide what I can do about it ...
Would you say it is a stressful environment here? ... I see. I'm sure I can handle it. I have been tested like that before ...
FOR EXAMPLE ...."
"FOR EXAMPLE, on several occasions I have had to deal with very irate customers who actually yelled at me. What I did was stay calm and not let them get under my skin. I really tried to listen and decide exactly what it was that was at the root of their problem.
Then I provided solutions that could be completed within a specific time-frame. I always find that it is best to face those types of situations head-on and be objective about them. I do my best to be professional and not get my emotions involved.
Also, I try to avoid stress in the first place by tackling difficult tasks or conversations sooner rather than later.
Does that make sense? ... I hope I've answered that question to your satisfaction?"
How do you handle a challenge? Give an example.
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One time, my sales manager needed to leave town unexpectedly, and we were in the middle of a touchy negotiation with a new major customer.
I was tasked with putting together an executive presentation just from the notes he had left, and some briefing from service.
My presentation turned out successfully - we got the sale, and I was given the account to manage.
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What do you do if you disagree with someone at work?
Non-Sales Example
A few years ago, I had a supervisor who wanted me to find ways to outsource most of the work we were doing in my department. I felt that my department was one where having the staff on premises had a huge impact on our effectiveness and ability to relate to our clients. I presented a strong case to her, and she came up with a compromise plan.
Have you handled a difficult situation? How?
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Non-Sales Example
When I worked at ABC Global, it came to my attention that one of my employees had become addicted to painkillers prescribed after she had surgery.
Her performance was being negatively impacted, and she needed to get some help. I spoke with her privately, and I helped her to arrange a weekend treatment program that was covered by her insurance.
Fortunately, she was able to get her life back on track, and she received a promotion about six months later.
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Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
Non-Sales Example
I had been working on a key project that was scheduled for delivery to the client in 60 days. My supervisor came to me and said that we needed to speed it up and be ready in 45 days, while keeping our other projects on time. I made it into a challenge for my staff, and we effectively added just a few hours to each of our schedules and got the job done in 42 days by sharing the workload.
Of course, I had a great group of people to work with, but I think that my effective allocation of tasks was a major component of the success of the project.
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