How to Control Stress during Examinations and Interviews

Posted on: November 2nd, 2017

Stress can be defined as the way a person feels when they are under extraordinary pressure. Hans Selye formulated the term “stress” in 1936 and defined it as “non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”. Today we know that stress will have both physical manifestations as well as psychological manifestations. It is crucial to understand how to manage stress at the time of essay writing an answer during an exam. The candidate’s performance on the problem solution essay will reflect the candidate’s ability of how to handle stress effectively. Some will be more successful than other because they have triumphantly mastered techniques to overcome stress barriers. The better students are at managing their stress levels the better academic achievements they will be able to make.

Controlling Stress and Performance during Examinations

The key to how to manage stress depends on first understanding your stress symptoms. Counteract each symptom in the most prompt and practical way so this does not have a negative impact on performance.

1. Breathing exercises: Deep breathing is necessary to understand how to overcome shyness starting to write after initially receiving the exam paper. Take a deep breath, slowly count to five and exhale.
2. Being optimistic: In high pressure situations it is only natural to focus on negative thoughts. Do the inverse and thinking of all the different unique mental capabilities which only you possess will give you an upper hand over the competition.
3. Maintain focus: Concentrate on the question and the related syllabus which you learnt while preparing for this exam.
4. Post-exam stress: The best way to avoid it is to refrain from any and all discussions trying to dissect what you or your buddies did or wrote during the examination.

Managing Stress in Interviews to Portray a Positive Image

Stressing over the consequences of an interview is human nature. Thinking in fifty different directions from your average student weekly budget to the consequences of your love life, all of these thoughts will spring to mind at the time of sitting there waiting for your turn for the interview. Overcoming interview stress and anxiety will determine whether or not you will land the job. The first thing to do is to take the day off from your current place of employment. Going to two offices in one day is a stimulus for stress for anybody. A day before the interview, make sure you know the location where the interview will be conducted.

Try not to be late but don’t get there too early. Coming early and watching all the other candidates will only make you more stressful. You will also come across as desperate and immensely impoverished to some of the employees in that organisation. Conduct practice interviews with friends and family to get a grip of the circumstances which may occur on the day of the interview.

On the day of the interview remember to confront each question with veracity and confidence. At the end of the interview politely ask when a decision will be made and whether or not you will be informed if you have NOT been selected. This will achieve two things. The first, it will let them know that this is not the only job application you are pursuing. The second, their answer will reveal a good portion of whether or not you will be accepted.

« Previous What is Plagiarism and Its Effects on Academic Career 4 Ways to Understand Assignment Writing Guide for Students Next »