BEP110 Job Interviews: Stress Questions

As we’ve discussed in other episodes on job interviews, one goal of the person conducting the interview is to get you to “let your guard down.” Often, after a series of “warm-up questions,” the interviewer will give you a tough question. This will likely come “out of the blue,” that is, unexpectedly. We call these types of questions “stress questions” because part of the intention is to see how you react under pressure.

Common types of stress questions range from problems, such as how to solve a business case study or even a mathematics question, to “behavioral questions,” such as how to deal with imaginary work situation involving conflict or communication.

The key with this type of question is “Don’t panic!” which is the theme of this episode. We’ll be looking at strategies and language that will help you deal with this type of query¹ coolly and calmly.

Listening Questions (Good Example):
1) What is the interviewer’s “stress question?”
2) What does Yala do to give herself some thinking time?
3) How does Yala answer the question?

1 query   

n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。