How do you handle it when you're under pressure with a tight deadline?

A natural way to answer

I try not to panic. The first thing I do is work out what absolutely has to be done and what can wait. Breaking it into a clear list helps me stay calm and focus on one task at a time, rather than letting the pressure get the better of me.

Key phrases to use

• power through — to keep working hard through difficulty until you finish“I was exhausted but I powered through to the end.”
• scrape it together — to manage to produce or gather something with great effort, only just enough“I scraped it together the night before it was due.”
• knuckle down — to start working hard and seriously“I had to knuckle down to make the deadline.”
• beating the buzzer — finishing something just before the time runs out“I submitted it with a minute to go — beating the buzzer.”