Stress Interviews: Are They Really Necessary or Just a Misused HR Trend?

Hello Professional HR & Business Veterans,

Please find below and attached an article written by myself on Stress Interview - Is it actually required?

Please give me your feedback and opinion.

Stress Interview - Is it actually required?

The Stress Interview is the latest Human Resources trend in the industry, and it is deliberately used as a source of entertainment by many of the most successful HR Gurus, rather than an effective tool for evaluating and assessing candidates. This type of interview is often misused by HR professionals who do not conduct a proper needs analysis before implementing it. Candidates can feel unnecessarily pressured, insulted, humiliated, and demotivated due to the undignified treatment they receive during these interviews, regardless of whether the position warrants such an approach. Many of the questions asked in stress interviews can be considered illegal and unnecessary, and when relevant questions are asked, they are often posed with arrogance.

In today's Talent Acquisition landscape, the relationship between recruiter and candidate is viewed as a business transaction, where both parties are customers of each other. It is no longer a master-servant dynamic from the past. Candidates have the right to reject recruiters based on cultural mismatches. Misusing innovative HR practices like stress interviews not only tarnishes the image of HR professionals but also damages a company's reputation. Genuine candidates with integrity, manners, discipline, ethics, principles, and values may not see such organizations as preferred employers. Recruiters must remember that candidates evaluate them and the organization's culture presented during the recruitment process.

Recruiters should recognize that they are interacting with human beings, not terrorists. Candidates deserve dignified treatment, as it is the moral responsibility of HR professionals to create a positive first impression.

Key Learning Points:

Your words, etiquette, discipline, manners, ethics, principles, values, and culture are your best assets. They can either build or destroy trust, goodwill, image, relationships, and business.

Hi Dilip,

As per my opinion, you are 100% right. I am working in Talent Acquisition. In my knowledge, 80% of the candidates will join because of the best HR round. While attending the technical interview, every candidate will think that once they clear the technical round, they will then decide whether they want to join or not. In HR discussions, I think 80% of people will decide based on the HR round and their impression of the company. So, obviously, HR should communicate exactly what we are. If we provide false information, the candidate will find out eventually, and they will never come back to us.

Here, I would like to add one more point that HR rounds should happen on time. I have observed many candidates feeling that HR rounds do not happen punctually. Personally, I believe that if HR does not maintain the right timing for interviews, the candidate's impression will diminish.

Dilip, could you please provide me with some insights on how to make the HR round more effective?

Thank you.

Regards, Dayakar Talent Acquisition Group

The problem lies not with stress interviews per se, but with their misuse by interviewers who are not competent. Asking illegal, abusive, private, and hypothetical questions does not constitute a stress interview. It is best administered in conjunction with other tools and exercises. The idea is to judge how a candidate will perform under stress, which is justified in the present context. Whether a candidate is being considered for a production, sales, or HR role, they have to perform under situations of continuous stress.

Understanding the Purpose of Stress Interviews

These interviews are meant to assess your thought process. "How" you arrive at a solution under stress is more important than the solution itself. The way you arrive at the solution needs to be conveyed no matter what. Be prepared to illustrate your ideas on paper or use the whiteboard if necessary. Response vs. Answer.

Regards.