With over 90% of communication being nonverbal, body language is very important at conveying messages, thoughts, and feelings across. This is applicable in day-to-day life but especially important in an interview situation where you’re under scrutiny. A person can judge you in between 5 and 30 seconds so body language is very important, here are some do’s and dont’s to ensure you take note of it you’re having an interview:
Do:
Walk-in confidently, it is important to give a good impression from the start, and looking professional from the outset gives this impression of you.
Give a firm handshake, this gives the impression of confidence and assertiveness. A handshake that Is too weak makes a person appear too passive and one too strong can portray a sense of cockiness and arrogance.
Have the correct posture, a person slouched over gives the impression of being sloppy, this sloppiness may reflect your working style and is to be avoided.
Smile, smiling show that you are a happy and friendly person, it gives the impression that you can be a sociable people person and will get along with a team.
Keep making eye contact, eye contact suggests a person is being transparent and honest. A person that avoids eye contact can be perceived as dishonest and as though they are hiding something. Making eye contact suggests that a person is good with their social skills and will more than likely be able to effectively communicate with other members of their team.
Don’t:
Appear too confident, this can make you come across as cocky or arrogant and the type of person that will probably rub people up the wrong way. Too much confidence suggests you think you are better than other people and the chances are this will shine through in social interactions and be very apparent.
Have a weak handshake, this makes you appear submissive and as though you will probably find it difficult to be assertive. Whilst this may be of benefits in certain job roles, however, the chances are that the job you’re applying for, wants somebody with a bit more about them.
Stare, obviously as previously mentioned, it is important to give a good amount of eye contact to the interviewer but come on, too much staring for too long just gets creepy.
Slouch, bad postured suggests laziness, complacency, and a low work ethic. Don’t shoot the messenger, it’s just the feedback interviewers give. Poor posture = poor work quality.
Fidget, fidgeting shows that a person is uneasy or nervous, this also becomes very noticeable to an interviewer. People that fidget tend to be procrastinators and this is a quality no employer wants in an employee. Fidgeting causes the interviewer to either to think you’re not really listening or you’re very easily distracted. This might not be the case and you don’t realize you’re doing it, but they do and it looks rude and like perhaps you aren’t the suitable candidate after all.
