Facebook Mock Interview
Practice 33 Facebook interview questions covering product thinking, system design, and cultural fit.
Question 27 of 33
How do you manage your own stress, and the stress of your teammates, at work?
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Community Answers
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
Your interviewer is interested in learning how you manage your stress, and if your stress has the potential to impact morale and interfere with how well you get along with your coworkers in high-stress situations. Meta advertises that they have an open and horizontal work culture that often lacks walls and barriers between desks. In a high-pressure work environment, where hours are long, and expectations are high, with little standing between you and your teammates, conflict can on occasion arise. Meta's employees credit the company culture for having a supportive work environment. Therefore, your interviewer is interested in how you manage your stress, how supportive you are of your coworkers in high-stress situations, and how diplomatic your approach is to conflict resolution when such situations arise.
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
In one of their careers blogs, a manager at Meta describes the type of culture that they aim to foster: "I really want the team to function as a unit, so nobody is in competition with each other. I had this great professor who always said, 'Hire people who are more talented than you and lift those up around you.' And I really take that to heart. I truly believe that we are the relationships we make around us, and I want to be the person in the room who lifts everyone up." And, in one of their full-loop interview guides, they state that they'll want to know "what kind of disagreements you had with colleagues and/or managers? How have you resolved them? Can you empathize with people whose points of view differ radically from yours?"
Kevin Downey has an extensive background in business management, recruiting, branding and marketing. He's volunteered his career coaching services at job fairs, lecturing on interview techniques and crafting winning resumes and cover letters.
"I am pretty good at just being aware of what stress does to my body, and paying attention to that. For example, if my heart rate goes up, or my thoughts grow scattered, or any other physiological symptoms occur, I just manage those. I objectify what the stress does to me, manage it, and move on. I never allow my stress to confuse me or dictate my behavior. This approach also allows me to help balance stressful situations that might impact the workplace, enabling me to be a stabilizer for those I work with. However, all I can do is control my own behavior, and sometimes my coworkers have trouble managing their stress, and project their feelings onto those who they're closely working with, and conflict situations arise. But, I am a pretty strong communicator and can de-escalate such situations pretty quickly and turn things around to being more productive again. It's all about approaching such things with the right attitude."
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Anonymous Answer
I would have a conversation with them first and understand what they are stressed out about. When you share your stress with someone, that is half the battle, and then come up with ideas to help them out. Or if they are not willing to share - I would suggest taking a break or talking to someone they are more comfortable with.
For instance:
I have a guy on my team. His name is Andy. He is genuinely a great guy and has solid technical skills. He takes on more than he should be, and he starts to stress out when things either are failing or not getting done. So I sat down with him to help him understand what's on his plate, and we made a list together of things he needs to focus on, and any new tasks or projects had to be funneled through me.
Kristine's Feedback
Great answer! You share what you would do if that situation were to arise, and then you share a specific example of how you used your approach with a colleague. To really "wow" the interviewer, you could mention the result of your actions with your colleague, e.g., if your plan resulted in less stress for him. I've provided an example of how you could express the result of your actions.
I would have a conversation with them first and understand why they are stressed out. I believe when you share your stress with someone, that is half the battle. Then, you come up with ideas to help them out. Or, if they are not willing to share, I would suggest taking a break or talking to someone they feel more comfortable with. For instance: I have a guy on my team who is genuinely a great guy with solid technical skills. He takes on more than he should and starts to stress out when failing or not getting everything done. So I sat down with him to understand what's on his plate, and we made a list together of things he needs to focus on. Then he agreed to the idea that any new tasks or projects would be funneled through me. Since then, my colleague has not been stressed out nearly as frequently as in the past.
Anonymous Answer
In the spirit of being supportive, I would like to have a conversation and see if there is anything that I or the team can do to help. Being able to talk to somebody can actually be a stress reliever as well, so I will be there to listen. If he or she is not willing to share, I would suggest things that you can do to freshen up, like taking a short walk, having a cup of coffee or water, just taking your mind off from a particular task for some time, and coming back to it later.
Stephanie's Feedback
This response shows a willingness to support your colleagues, both personally and professionally!
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