How would you handle the job-related stress that comes with this position at Uber?
At all levels of their organization, Uber is tackling the most challenging problems of our time in regard to transportation and travel. If hired to join the team at Uber, there will be times where you will be pulled in several different directions on the job and this can cause a great deal of stress for most people. In asking this question, your interviewer is ideally looking to hear that you can stay calm, cool, and collected when faced with stress on the job. As you answer, talk about your ability to prioritize work and take your tasks one at a time to ensure that you are giving every task its full attention. Be sure to talk about ways that you stay organized in your work and don't hesitate to give an example of a time where you had to work under a great deal of pressure.
"I handle stress well on the job and when you call my references, they will attest to this fact. When I am under pressure on the job, I focus on the task at hand, doing my best to keep from being distracted. This means that when engrossed with a task, I stay away from email until the work is complete. Staying on deadline is helpful, and I will delegate when necessary to alleviate some stress."
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
I particularly remember one occasion when a client acceptance test was suddenly moved 3 weeks earlier. That put me in a very delicate position. I quickly organized my ideas and prioritized them. I kindly contacted the client and ask if I could be allowed to work directly on their servers. This would save time by not having to move files later. Furthermore, I asked my boss to assign another developer to my team. What is more, when my team and I arrived at the facility, I noticed that the conditions weren’t very comfortable. So, I headed out and purchased what was necessary to make sure my programmers were working at full capacity. I also provided breakfast and lunch daily. In the end, we were ready on time and everything went well. The client was really impressed that we were able to handle the crunch and relied on us a lot more going forward, which brought in even more business.
Marcie's Feedback
Excellent! You have provided a solid example that shows you're adaptable, hardworking, smart, and proactive during times of stress. You might also want to go into how you handle stress in a more general sense too, however (so that you directly answer the question). For example, what do you do to alleviate stress? Do you come up with an action plan to organize your thoughts? Do you socialize during your lunch breaks or exercise after work? Do you take deep breaths to center yourself? Including these additional details will further strengthen an already strong answer. Great job!
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