Thursday 19 May 2011

Five Powerful Body Language Tips to Ace Your Next Job Interview


Getting a job in today's tough economy is hard. The current recession is characterized by unusually high levels of unemployment, which makes it harder than ever for the unemployed to get back on their feet and back into the workforce. There are too many people competing for too few positions resulting in a job search process that is often be brutal, depressing and all too often unsuccessful. 

It is not enough to be qualified and to have all the right references, you often need an additional edge to separate you from the pack of other job applicants. You can get this edge through effective management of your body language.
Many job applicants are sabotaging themselves because they are non-verbally communicating low confidence and low self-esteem. You need to focus on avoiding this in your next job interview.

To represent yourself successfully in a job interview you need to project an air of confidence and ability. High confidence sells while fear and doubt poisons the impression you make on others. A lack of confidence manifests itself in your body language and can ruin your chances in a job interview.

Recruitment firms around the globe are reporting that candidates, frustrated by seemingly endless job interviews and fruitless job searches, are displaying negative body language patterns that cause them to fail their interviews. After a string of failed job interviews many job seekers tend to fall into a death spiral and this can be deadly for your job search.

The job interview death spiral happens after you have had several unsuccessful job interviews. The failed job interviews cause you to lose self-confidence, which is projected through your body language during your next job interview, contributing to your failure, which of course deepens your lack of confidence. This spiral can lead you into despair and cause you to eventually give up completely on finding a job.

To prevent this death spiral from happening it's important to project confidence and avoid making a bad impression. Managing your body language and avoiding the most common body language mistakes is a very important part of an effective and successful job interview.

How important is body language? Research points out that up to 93% of the impact you have is influence by factors other than the words you use. It's not enough to say the right things, you need to non verbally back up your words with the right image and impression.

Try these five body language tips during your next job interview:

  • Use a firm handshake - In the mind of most people weak and limp handshakes equal weak character. Be sure you deliver your handshake with a firm grip while looking them right in the eye.

  • Watch your posture - There is a definitive difference between a confident posture and a posture that communicates low self-esteem. The best advice is the same your mother gave you, sit up straight (ramrod down your back) with your feet firmly planted on the floor. Again, slumping equals low self-esteem or even disinterest.

  • Make eye contact - Regular, strong eye contact is associated with confidence, honesty and boldness. Making eye contact is vital.

  • Monitor your vocal delivery - Experts estimate up to 38% of our communication is conveyed by our voice and vocal qualities, which means you need to pay attention not only to what you say but also how you say it. When we're nervous we tend to speak faster and at a higher pitch, which robs of our authority. Take a tip from the acting profession and practice speaking slowly and deliberately.

  • Pay attention to the Interviewer's body language - In today's competitive job market being qualified for the job and having strong references is not enough. You need to convince the interviewer that you'll be a good fit for the company and its values. You do this by reading the interviewer's body language and responding appropriately. You need to show the proper amount of "social intelligence" and awareness to stand out from the other interviewees competing with you for the job.

So there you have it, five aspects of body language and nonverbal communication that will better your odds of succeeding in your next job interview. While having the correct body language might not win you the job, the wrong body language can definitely guarantee you won't.

By Steven D Chambers

2 comments:

  1. I was offered the only other seat in the hiring manager's office, when I sat down, I almost fell out since the seat wasn't completely connected to the base! No option was offered & the interviewer proceeded to show me his back as he demonstrated his PC skills. Couldn't see if he was laughing...
    Talk about taking advantage of an interview setting!
    Thought I had it all locked up when I was informed that they recruited a current employee of their competitor!

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  2. So what do you do with video interviews? Many of the openings in my field are out of state, and my last interview was via video conferencing. It's very difficult to read body language and respond, and it's nigh on impossible to make eye contact! Suggestions?

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