Stress counts?

I wonder, can we make a judgment about the person based on her reactions to the stress situation? Do these responses suggest normal person’s behaviours in her daily life? Does interview show the real potential of the candidate and whether an examination correctly assesses the level of the student?

Probably stress-test interview works best when you are hiring somebody for a job in a stressful environment. Pilots, police officers even teachers up to some extent should be seen in the stress, as this is how they are going to spend their entire career. What about marketing people, QA or finance specialists?

Stress would no doubt affect my ability to count precisely right here and now. If I still manage to get the right result, it suggests that not only I can score but also can handle the stress. However, does the wrong result in these circumstances indicate that I cannot count? Maybe I just cannot concentrate under severe stress?

Therefore, I can miss my chance only due to stress but miss it anyway. Looks like dealing with the stress is one skill to train hard.

Now, what about people who deal with stress professionally but average professionals themselves? High chances such person will get the job even though she is not a perfect fit for the position. The company will lose time and money, and this price may become too high at some point. So how to spot relaxed wrong candidate and not miss over worried proper candidate? Should we create a relaxed environment during the interview or introduce some degree of stress as part of the game?

Guess this is a good question for HR specialist you are hiring. These folks should have the answer.

Artem Berman

Artem Berman

Leave a Reply