‘Does this crap really work?’

A few years ago I was being considered for a training position. The hiring process included a phone screen and a standard one-on-one interview as well as a dreaded stress interview. The stress interview, sometimes referred to as a situational interview, came as a complete surprise but was highly effective in determining if I possessed the skills necessary to handle the rigors of the position.

A stress interview mirrors a typical day on the job and gives employers a chance to observe a candidate in action. Asking prospective candidates how they would handle a hypothetical situation is much less effective than actually watching them at work.

In my case, I was asked to prepare a lesson and conduct a mini-training session. About three minutes into my lesson, the hiring managers began behaving badly. Some busied themselves on their laptops, others began talking with each other and one especially difficult student tossed my handout on the floor and asked, “Does this crap really work?”

I smiled knowingly as I realized that they were not interested in my actual lesson. This employer wanted to see how well I could handle disruptive and uninterested students. Did I have the classroom management skills necessary to engage and redirect adult learners in a positive and effective manner?

Stress interviews are a valuable but underused recruitment tool. They must be carefully executed to comply with legal hiring guidelines and to ensure equitable treatment of all candidates. When stress interviews are implemented correctly they help employers determine with more assurance whether or not a candidate has what it takes to do the job. They can also help candidates figure out if a job is right for them. Some will walk away, or perhaps run like crazy, from stress interviews — and that is exactly the point.

Stop by HR World for more information on how to conduct a legally sound and effective stress interview.

By the way, I did get the job and still conduct training for this organization. While I have never had a group of students quite as obnoxious as those encountered during my stress interview, I have had plenty of participants that were less than thrilled to be in the classroom.

My job is to engage learners and to help them see the value in the information I am providing. I cannot guarantee that all students absorb every detail of the curriculum, but I can do everything possible to make the experience positive and to create an environment that allows real learning to take place.

Looking back, I believe that the stress interview was a very effective way to set my expectations about the position while it allowed the organization to determine if I would be a successful hire. Yes, indeed, “this crap really does work.”

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