Interview Q: How do you manage stress?

I would answer with something that demonstrates that you deal with stress in a healthy way (I hit the gym every night, or I play pick up basketball on weeknights should be solid ways to answer).

I also think this question is another way of asking "what do you do in your free time?". Probably just a way to gauge your personality to see what you do out of the office. I'd just be authentic and tell them what you enjoy doing (lifting, writing, martial arts, etc).

Workout every day.

Lol - you know what, if someone answered that to me I would definitely appreciate and probably not push you too much on it afterwards. "How do you manage stress?" "Yoga and Green tea" - ok that was a dumb question for me to ask, but you gracefully answered it.

This is a terrible interview question. I certainly would not ding you for your honest answer, but honestly, if someone is already asking such dumb interview questions, they most likely have no sense of humor and would ding you anyway. I would answer with something relating to how you keep a level head and try to see the big picture and end-goal of everything that you work in. What you want to show is that even if you are working a 100-hour work week, you will not let stress get the better of you since you understand that in the grand scheme of things, the work that you are working on is important to closing the transaction.

Agree with all of the above. 1) Stupid question - I don't really care how you handle stress so long as I/clients don't see you stressed 2) Make sure it's not something (like SCUBA) that is obviously not going to be feasible mid-week. 3) Can't go wrong with exercise... 4) If you can provide a personal example here- even better. Interviewing last summer as a military guy I had something similar to this (I think it was spun as "How do you manage personal time under work pressure?") - Answer - "Well, while I was deployed we had a ton of ____ to do but I knew that I needed to maintain my sanity/health, so I would always make sure to hit the gym at XYZ time prior to doing ABC."

So possibly for someone at Uni - "While taking a semester with 20 credits and working a full time job, I often was at a crossroads of [insert hobby/stress relief]. I found that by [insert time saving activity] I could find the time to exercise while not falling behind on my work. This allowed me to really blow off steam and ensure I operating at a high level when i got back to work."

...or just You, Me, and Dupree it and stand up, shake his/her hand and give them the old "We tried, right?" Ask for your resume back to reuse it and walk out.

Pound off.

I think the interviewer may have intended the question to be framed "how do you actively deal with stressful situations at work?" Like not so much a free time question, but what do you do when your boss is screaming in your ear, or a pitch blows up mid-presentation.

If the question is actually what do you do in your spare time, for the love of god, don't say, "modeling financial statements," or anything remotely related to finance. You come off as a hilarious douche and a liar (even if you aren't lying!)

rolling up fat blunts to get hella lit, son

mmmm123 I would answer in a slightly different way. For me when I am stressed its because of uncertainty of what's about to happen and or a lack of preparedness on my part. The best way to handle a stressful situation is to be prepared to expect the unexpected and to prepare for everything that could possibly go wrong and subsequent outcomes.

I can't believe "binge drinking" hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet

From my point of view, the first thing you do is ask for clarity between stress relief and stress management. The two require very different answers also asking for clarification shows attention to detail.

Be honest, but not too honest. If you rip lines or slam Woodford and creatine à la Fear The Bulge, it may be wise to tone it down. I believe they (interviewers) want to know, "is this guy/gal going to become worthless/a liability under pressure?"

It would bolster your answer if you have a couple examples of times you were under intense stress/pressure and used the techniques you mentioned in your initial response.

It's an interview question - AKA it is not asking what you do in your spare time, so working up to a three rep max on deadlifts or smoking a blunt will not be good answers. "I deal with stress best by being in control of my situation and organized, I also have a realistic assumption on how much time each task I need to do will take. In the event something unexpected comes up, I triage and determine where it is importance-wise relative to my other tasks and resume my work as if it had been there in the first place. Knowing that I have a plan to finish what needs to be finished greatly reduces my stress."

promethazine, sprite, and Through the Wormhole

At work I address stress by completing the tasks that stand before me by order of urgency. If need be I will reach out to my team members for instruction or to help tackle any issues at hand. Outside of work I handle them by (insert relaxing activity) or consulting with my friends and family.

That is how I have gone about answering that one.

Saying that your work ahead of deadlines doesn't explain how you handle an unavoidable crisis.
if you are going to add layers of meaning make sure you have a tool for this and don't come off sounding like an obsessive compulsive control freak who is going to blow up if things go way outside parameters...... just sayin'

Beat the meat

Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Get more sleep which will help you to reduce over thinking. Listen to music and talk to someone. Spend your free time with family, friends and positive people.