Why should one care about the nuances of body language during a job interview? Job interviews are the scenarios wherein the interviewer is more cautious, of making a wrong selection, than the interviewee is of getting rejected. The employer side employees all its judgement, reason, and experience skills to make the right kill in the least available time span.
An experienced interviewee is aware of the set pattern which the employer treads in the name of an interview, and can very well train himself on it, thus, can easily fake it. Then, how can the interviewer tell between the real and the fake, the genuine from pretense. This is where knowledge of body language in job interview comes into play, and becomes a weapon in the hands of an experienced interviewer.
The interviewee can succeed in this – apart from preparing an interview strategy -only by teaching himself the basics of, or dos and don’ts of body language while giving a job interview. Here, I present the body language tips which will sufficiently equip professionals with all they need to know to match the expectations of their target employers in at least this crucial aspect of a job interview. Body language is an important consideration in making through the first 2 minutes test.
Hands – Body Language in Job Interview
Working along the nervous system the movements of the body are a direct expression of the mind. It’s is very difficult to fake one’s body language, without being caught, as the mind directs the movements and not the other way round.
Upper limbs constitute of three very flexible joints – wrists, elbows, and the shoulders- which imparts maximum potency for gesticulation with the arms, hands included. the multiple hinge joints which make up the fingers are apart from the three major ones. Blessed with so much mobility hands are the best tolls to read one’s mind. The interviewer would know this out of instinct as well as experience.
Approaching a Handshake
Right before the interview begins some interviewers would prefer shaking hands with the interviewee out of courtesy. This is the first contact between the two which ca be decisive in forming first impressions of each other. More so, being physical in nature it is a intimate gesture and thus can have more profound effect on the exchange of vibes between the two than any other.
There are basically two ways you can approach the other person for a handshake. One is by keep the palm facing up and another by keeping the palm facing down. The latter conveys authority and control, whereas the former indicates submissiveness and flexibility to some extent.
Never approach the interviewer with the palms facing down position as this would convey authority and power over them, sending a wrong message in this situation, which would mean that you are less accepting of other’s authority over you and thus may resist instructions by the seniors. A kind of adamancy on your part gets portrayed.
As per the rules of body language during job interview, apply equal pressure on the interviewer’s hand as you would receive from him/ her; anything more feels like aggression, anything less gives you away as a weak person. Right approach of the hand and applying the right pressure during the handshake can be a deciding factor on making or breaking a first good impression at the interview.
Do not be the first one to approach for the handshake, wait for the interviewer to initiate the same. Some interviewers are not very comfortable with handshakes at this stage of interaction and may sense aggression in case it is initiated from your side. This is particularly true in case the interviewer is a woman. Let the woman initiate the handshake in case she is comfortable with it.
Body language – Hands – during Job Interview
Hands reveal what the mind is thinking. The employers look for an open mind, and open palms are the best way to convey the same to them. Make sure that you do not hide your palms under the table on your laps or by just hanging them sideways out of the view of the interviewer.
open, visible palms inadvertently convey honesty and openness of the mind. The best way to place your hands in from of the interviewer is to let them be on the table , but not facing down. This will be equivalent of hiding the palms and thus conveying dishonesty and a closed mind to the person on the other side of the table. Keep the hands resting vertically along their sides , with the little finger down, the fingers can be kept crossed or free of each other.
The palms may face towards you in this position but not down. Keep flashing the palms towards the interviewer as a mark of normal gesticulation as you talk or explain during the conversation. The interviewer winner posed to your palms will unconsciously begin to believe in your honesty and openness of your mind.
Make sure that you never point a finger towards the interviewer. This gesture can generate irritability and negative feeling within the listener. Psychologically this gesture is associated with accusations, you would never want the person in power with deciding on your job prospects with them feeling accused.
Learn to give the right handshake for different occasions. Here I am running you through the basics of body language during job interview.
Smile Right – Job Interview
Starting from our formative years we are consistently encouraged to smile when we meet strangers or when in social situations. The same stands true while meeting a prospective employer as an interviewer during a job interview. Smiling is a gesture of submission, ‘I am not a threat’, and ‘I am flexible and accommodating enough’.
Smiling right forms a significant include in any discussion on what should one’s body language during a job interview be. Smile conveys confidence, and a relaxed state of mind. It projects happy vibrations which are contagious by nature. If practiced appropriately it can dissipate unwanted stress between two strangers during their encounter known as job interview.
But learn what is the right way to smile, or what a genuine smile is? As is true of other aspects of the job interview, never ever fake anything, smiling included. Train your mind to be comfortable, excited, and happy an interview situation as if you were really looking forward to meet the interviewer. If you can make that happen, the genuine smile will emerge on its own.
The wiring of human brain is such that it can by default correctly read the body language signals emanating from the other person. Its very difficult to fake it. A fake smile is easily caught and can give you out as a nervous and a deceptive personality. How to tell a fake smile from a genuine one?
A fake smile is just limited to the lips, mouth part of the facial structure. You can see and feel the sides of the lower cheeks being pulled away stretching the lips sideways. The teeth may or may not be visible. The upper half of the face remains completed unaffected by what the lower half is projecting. ‘The eyes are not smiling’ during a fake smile.
A genuine and real smile has the cheeks pulled backs, the lips stretched sideways and apart genuinely exposing the pearly whites tot he maximum, the eyes go slightly narrow as temporary lines crape up on the sides. Even the area between the eyebrows and the eyelids narrows down.
The real smile comes form within and cannot be manufactured, train the mind to feel it and not fake it. The interviewer would develop a liking for the right, real smile. He/ she would become more receptive of what you have to say to them. Getting their ears to listen to you, connect to them along the right vibes, and projecting you as a positive personality is what a real smile given at the appropriate moment can do during a job interview.
Very important! Do not keep smiling throughout the job interview irrespective of what the mood of the conversation in a particular section of the interview is. Smile when the question is being asked, when you begin to answer the interviewer, and in case some fun discussion breaks in. Use a real smile to begin the job interview for sure, and punctuate the course of the interview with it as and when your discretion allows it to.
We ill be learning more about smile as well as its different types in another article in this blog.
Arm Signals – During a Job Interview
The arms are functionally designed to work in the front of the body and not towards its back. Also known as the upper extremities of the body, arms. owing to their size, length, when taken proportional to the body are capable of getting into many easily notable formations, or gestures.
The body language signals conveyed by the positioning of your arms are direct and clear than any other part of the body. This is because they remain more in direct view of the person placed opposite to yourself and are large enough to be easily noticed. from the other end.
Arms by default cross themselves in from of the body whenever the mind is feeling threatened or defensive; the states of mind which need to be hidden from the interviewer at any cost. The job interview situation, environment though seems artificial is actually the laboratory conditions for real situations your mind would be working in later, in case you get the job.
So, do not embrace negativity with both your arms, in front of the interviewer, by crossing them in front of you, in any position, and to any degree while facing a job interview. Crossing the arms at the chest is a stern ‘No No’ related to the display of body language during a job interview.
It conveys your disinterest in what the interviewer is speaking about or asking of you. It will instantaneously create a disconnect between both of you which will lead the course of the interview astray. Any employee needs to possess the basic soft skill of being easily able to connect with others in the work environment. This gesture will create a barrier instead.
The best place to lay your arms during an interview is on the table, in case you are fortunate enough to be facing the interviewer from behind it. The arms must be kept shoulder width apart on the intervening table, no more wider nor any closer. In case you have placed your arms on the arm rests of the chair do not slide them inside the armrests throughout the interview.
This gesture, or body language during a job interview, conveys the feeling of defeat on your part. which is a very powerful negative signal for the prospective employer to receive. Other arm gestures which do not appear very obvious to you but can send across negative signals with equal intensity are fiddling with the cufflinks, or placing the tea, coffee cup (in case you are offered, and you should accept it) on the opposite side of your body to the hand you are holding it with.
Avoid making fists of your hands, this can convey aggression even if it is done with the open arms position. Open arms gesture signals openness of the mind to ideas and suggestions and projects you as a flexible and malleable personality as a whole.
In case the interview situation doesn’t have a table in between both of you, place the arms comfortable on the respective thighs. Keep the palms in upwards facing position with any angle, but not facing down.
Miscellaneous – Body Language Tips
The interviewer reads more of what your body language during the interview convey to him / her than what you speak. Apart from the significant tips shared above make sure that you do not slouch on the interview chair. Sit in the middle of the chair, keep the spine straight on its own strength (this has its own advantages along with keeping you alert) and do not lean against the back rest.
Maintain appropriate eye contact with the interviewer though out the session. Educate yourself on the difference between a decent eye contact and staring, under no circumstances staring be employed as it can attack the comfort zone of the interviewer. A good eye contact help you focus, connect better, and make the other person feel important.
Do not change your sitting posture frequently. Avoid fiddling with any gadgets on you or placed around you. Speak with pauses (learn the professional speaking etiquette rules) and do not listen to react but listen to respond with a speech which is laden with logically associated ideas.
Conclusion:
Body language is very crucial to any kind of human interaction where two people try to connect and know each other at various levels. It gains more significance for the interviewee as the right to know the other person gets completely shifted to the interviewer during a job interview. Be conscious of your hand and arm movements as you converse your way towards getting the target job.
Use more of palm up position for conveying openness of personality. Greet by shaking hands the right way, avoid forming psychological barriers by placing the arms between you and the interviewer at any time. Interspersing the conversation with smiles at the the right intervals can actually help you clinch the final deal as per your expectations.
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