Handle Stress Interview Preparation Guide

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Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. When people are stressed, they often hold a lot of the stress in their face. So laughs or smiles can help relieve some of that tension and improve the situation.

Avoid, or at least reduce your consumption of, nicotine and all drinks containing caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are stimulants and so will increase your level of stress rather than reduce it.
Swap caffeinated and alcoholic drinks for water, herbal teas, or diluted natural fruit juices and aim to keep yourself hydrated as this will enable your body to cope better with stress.

It may seem difficult to get away from a big work project, a crying baby or a growing credit card bill. But when you give yourself permission to step away from it, you let yourself have time to do something else, which can help you have a new perspective or practice techniques to feel less overwhelmed. It's important to not avoid your stress (those bills have to be paid sometime), but even just 20-minutes to take care of yourself is helpful.

Stress that continues without relief can lead to headaches, an upset stomach, high blood pressure, chest pain, problems with sleeping or sex, depression, panic attacks, or other forms of anxiety and worry.
On top of that, if you handle stress with food, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, overspending, or other things that don't solve the problem, you're going to end up with more stress.

☻ Headache
☻ Chest pain
☻ Pounding heart
☻ High blood pressure
☻ Shortness of breath
☻ Muscle aches, such as back and neck pain
☻ Clenched jaws
☻ Grinding teeth
☻ Tight, dry throat
☻ Indigestion
☻ Constipation or diarrhea
☻ Stomach cramping or bloating
☻ Increased perspiration, often causing cold, sweaty hands
☻ Fatigue
☻ Insomnia
☻ Weight gain or loss
☻ Skin problems such as hives

☛ 5 X 30: Jog, walk, bike, or dance three to five times a week for 30 minutes.
☛ Set small daily goals and aim for daily consistency rather than perfect workouts. It's better to walk every day for 15-20 minutes than to wait until the weekend for a three-hour fitness marathon. Lots of scientific data suggests that frequency is most important.
☛ Find forms of exercise that are fun or enjoyable. Extroverted people often like classes and group activities. People who are more introverted often prefer solo pursuits.
☛ Distract yourself with an iPod or other portable media player to download audio books, pod-casts, or music. Many people find it's more fun to exercise while listening to something they enjoy.
☛ Recruit an "exercise buddy." It's often easier to stick to your exercise routine when you have to stay committed to a friend, partner, or colleague.
☛ Be patient when you start a new exercise program. Most sedentary people require about four to eight weeks to feel coordinated and sufficiently in shape so that exercise feels easier.

☛ Do your best. Instead of aiming for perfection, which isn't possible, be proud of however close you get.
☛ Accept that you cannot control everything. Put your stress in perspective: Is it really as bad as you think?
☛ Welcome humor. A good laugh goes a long way.
☛ Maintain a positive attitude. Make an effort to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
☛ Get involved. Volunteer or find another way to be active in your community, which creates a support network and gives you a break from everyday stress.
☛ Learn what triggers your anxiety. Is it work, family, school, or something else you can identify? Write in a journal when you're feeling stressed or anxious, and look for a pattern.
☛ Talk to someone. Tell friends and family you're feeling overwhelmed, and let them know how they can help you. Talk to a physician or therapist for professional help.

☛ Take a time-out. Practice yoga, listen to music, meditate, get a massage, or learn relaxation techniques. Stepping back from the problem helps clear your head.
☛ Eat well-balanced meals. Do not skip any meals. Do keep healthful, energy-boosting snacks on hand.
☛ Limit alcohol and caffeine, which can aggravate anxiety and trigger panic attacks.
☛ Get enough sleep. When stressed, your body needs additional sleep and rest.
☛ Exercise daily to help you feel good and maintain your health. Check out the fitness tips below.
☛ Take deep breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly.
☛ Count to 10 slowly. Repeat, and count to 20 if necessary.

☛ Learn to just say, "No" occasionally. It won't hurt other people's feelings as much as you think and is simply a method to be more assertive in your own life, to better help you meet your own needs.
☛ Get the right amount of sleep. For most people, this is seven to nine hours a night.
☛ Cultivate a sense of humor; laugh.
☛ Research has shown that having a close, confiding relationship protects you from many stresses.
☛ Don't run from your problems! This only makes them worse.
☛ Talk to your family and friends. See if they can help.

☛ Make time for music, art or other hobbies that help relax and distract you.
☛ Learn to identify and monitor stressors. Come up with an organized plan for handling stressful situations. Be careful not to overgeneralize negative reactions to things.
☛ Make a list of the important things you need to handle each day. Try to follow the list so you feel organized and on top of things. Put together a coping plan step by step so you have a sense of mastery.
☛ Keep an eye on things that might suggest you're not coping well. For example, are you smoking or drinking more, or sleeping less?
☛ Keep a list of the large and little hassles in your day versus the major stressful events in your life. This helps you focus on the fact that you're keeping track of and managing those as well as you can.
☛ Set aside a time every day to work on relaxation.
☛ Avoid using caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, junk food, binge eating and other drugs as your primary means for coping with stress. While they can be helpful once in awhile, using them as your only or usual method will result in longer-term problems, such as weight problems or alcoholism.

☛ Perform diaphragmatic or "deep breathing" exercises.
☛ Lie face down on the floor and begin breathing deeply and slowly, with your hands resting under your face. Do this for five minutes.
☛ Sit in a reclining chair. Put a hand on your abdomen and a hand on your chest. As you breathe, make sure the hand on your abdomen is moving up and down rather than one on your chest. If the hand on your abdomen is moving you are breathing deeply and slowly.
☛ Try progressive muscle relaxation or "deep muscle" relaxation. Progressively tense and relax each muscle group in your body. Learn the difference between muscle tension and relaxation.
☛ Meditate. Use visualization or guided imagery to help you learn to be one with your thoughts. Sit quietly with your eyes closed, imagining the sights, sounds and smells of your favorite place, such as a beach or mountain retreat.
☛ Exercise regularly or take up yoga.
☛ Consult a psychologist about the use of biofeedback.

☛ Try to manage your time wisely.
☛ Say no, where you can, to things that would add more stress to your life.
☛ Make time for hobbies and interests.
☛ Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.
☛ Don't rely on alcohol, drugs, or food to help against stress. Ease up on caffeine, too.
☛ Spend time with people you love.
☛ Talk with a counselor or take a stress management class for more help.

☛ Ask yourself what you can do about the sources of your stress. Think through the pros and cons. Take action where you can.
☛ Keep a positive, realistic attitude. Accept that although you can't control certain things, you're in charge of how you respond.
☛ Stand up for yourself in a polite way. Share your feelings, opinions, or beliefs, instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive.
☛ Learn and practice relaxation techniques. Try breathing exercises, meditation, prayer, yoga, or tai chi.
☛ Exercise regularly. You'll feel better and be more prepared to handle problems.
☛ Eat healthy. Avoid too much sugar. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. When you're stressed, you'll probably want less-nutritious comfort foods, but if you overdo them, they'll add to your problems.

☛ Taking long breaks - not speaking after answers
☛ Asking irritating or 'demanding' questions
☛ Disagreeing and arguing
☛ Repeating the same questions
☛ Asking sarcastically: "Is this your answer? Are you sure about that?"
☛ Making you wait a long time before the interview starts

☛ Displaying a hostile attitude
☛ Being aggressive or arrogant
☛ Behaving in an uninterested manner
☛ Avoiding eye contact
☛ Interrupting during answers
☛ Failing to "listen"
☛ Taking notes

The interviewer may ask the same question again and again, pretending not to fully understand your prior answer. This tactic is used to see how patient your are or if you quickly become exasperated and impatient with the interviewer.

Offer an example of a time when you and a colleague initially disagreed, but successfully navigated a compromise or agreeable resolution. For a sales or service job, you will likely get a question like "How did you handle a difficult customer. The manager typically wants to hear an example of how you go through a sequential process with the customer, such as listening, empathizing and resolving the problem.

★ That you recognise that pressure and stress are facts of life
★ That you understand the effect pressure and stress has on you
★ That you are sufficiently robust to be able to take them in your stride

The ability to cope with pressure and stress is essential in almost all walks of life, whether you're working checkout at the supermarket or heading up a major corporation. Pressure and stress are unavoidable aspects of the world we live in.

I am doing the things the best I can, and if I cannot handle it, I will ask help from my supervisor.

Stress is an attitude, 10% is what is given to. the other 90% is reflection of the situation or how you handle it.

I'm a music lover. I wear those earphones and ignore the world for a while. And imagine beautiful things in life. Fresh air can help, and a cup of coffee too.

I steal away and cry. However, when I don't have the opportunity to cry, I implement breathing techniques, then I ask God for wisdom on how to handle the problem. Lastly, I exercise at the end of the day and sometimes before I start work.

Stress decreases our thinking capacity by 25%. A person can get 10 -20 ideas to solve a problem when he is free from pressure. but the same person gets only 5 - 8 ideas under pressure.

I just take a deep breath. Take a moment to pray for a minute to ask wisdom from the Lord. Then stay focused, calm and think of a solution. And stay positive that everything will be ok because I know that God will never leave me.