Interview Body Language
Using Effective Body Language To Ace A Job Interview
Knowing how to move, what to do with your hands, and where to look is often overlooked when it comes to preparing for a job interview. Unfortunately, your body language can be the main determining factor for a prospective employer. Non-verbal communication provides the interviewer with more than three quarters of the information he or she will discover about you.
Where to Look
When battling job interview nerves, it can be difficult to focus on the interviewer. Many people often stare at their lap, look around the room, or anywhere except directly at the other person. To a prospective employer, this hints that you are uninterested, unconfident in your ability, or even dishonest.
When talking and listening to the interviewer, make good eye contact without staring. Visually connect for a period of 10 to 20 seconds, look elsewhere for a quick moment, and reestablish eye contact. This prevents you from coming across as aggressive or superior. You also want to remember to look natural by blinking and moving your head.
How to Sit
The body language you exhibit when you sit down also tells your potential employer a lot about who you are. Slouching or sitting back in the chair for instance, indicates that you are lazy, insecure, or careless. The best way to express yourself through your posture is to sit formally in the chair and lean ever so slightly towards the interviewer. This makes you appear respectful and interested in what the other person is saying.
When you sit down, your hands and legs also tell the other person a lot about your thoughts and behaviors. Fidgeting or moving your arms and legs around excitedly gives the impression that you are anxious and unprofessional. Crossing your arms or touching your face indicates that you are disconnected, apprehensive, and deceptive. Instead, place your hands casually on your lap or on the table with your feet flat on the floor. To seem more natural, move them only occasionally.
How to Speak
In a job interview, how you speak is almost more important than what you have to say. The trick is speaking at the right speed so that you are understood while adding enough passion and enthusiasm to your tone to keep the interviewer engaged in the conversation. You need to be cautious here, however. Speaking too erratically makes you appear too nervous and emotional indicating that you do not handle pressure well. The secret is to appear approachable yet confident enough that the interviewer feels you can work efficiently under pressure.
When interviewing you for a job, prospective employers are not looking simply for someone who is qualified to do the job, but also for someone who will fit seamlessly into their team and represent their company adequately. They are watching to see if you can provide them with high-quality work regardless of the amount of pressure you are under. By appearing comfortable, confident, and approachable in a professional manner, you will quickly earn your way to the top of even the longest list of candidates.
