What skills do you use to cope with the day to day stress and pressure on the job?
In modern technology industries, consumer demand has led to high volume of work and high pressure situations to work on tight deadlines. To prove that you are able to handle high stress, high pressure situations on the job, your interviewer is looking to hear first hand how you handle this type of environment in your own words. As you answer the question, try to turn potential perceived stress into a positive by highlighting your personal skills that enable you to perform well in those situations. If possible, try to use specific examples in your answer.
"Where many others get overtaken by stress to the point that they can't function in this field, high pressure situations sharpen my focus and that helps me work through them with ease. Last year, I was assigned a high priority, short notice project for a high profile customer. My manager gave it to me because of my proven success in those situations. From the start, I created a timeline for completion and mapped out a plan to make it happen. While staying in communication with my leaders and the client, I was able to create a great system update in just a few short weeks."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
The best way for me to cope with stress from the day-to-day pressure on the job is to create a schedule to organize tasks efficiently. If everything is mapped out from the start and communication stays strong, my stress can be used as a way to focus and accomplish any task.
Stephanie's Feedback
Organizational skills are critical to success on the job! Since this question focuses on coping skills, I suggest further developing your response to include any additional strategies you've developed to help yourself stay grounded and cared for at work (example: taking mini-breaks to take a deep breath and re-set, taking a walk on your lunch break, etc.)
Anonymous Answer
I use my organizational skills to cope with the day-to-day stress. When I was working as a food service assistant at my university, during the peak dinner time, the lines would get too long with a huge backlog of orders. Since it was completely run by students, none of us had any experience in this industry. I came up with a plan to organize the orders in a way that included early segregation, based on items. My communication skills enabled me to take control of the situation. In general, I like to eat lunch/dinner away from my study area. This allows me to relax and get back to studying with a free mind.
Stephanie's Feedback
It sounds like your organizational skills and communication skills have helped you to be effective at work, while also helping you cope with daily stress and pressure. If you have little self-care strategies built into your workday (example: eating lunch away from your desk or taking a five-minute screen break,) I suggest including those here as well.
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