Communication is complex, multi-faceted, and difficult to master. One of the benefits of your resume and role playing interview questions is that you get to tailor your communication beforehand. But this is not enough to guarantee you get hired. When it comes to the interview, one of the most important aspects of your communication is non-verbal. Your body language will help determine whether or not you actually land the position. Today we are going to look at some of the good things you can project with your body, as well as the bad.
Respect Personal Space- Everyone has a personal bubble, and everyone has different personal bubbles for different reasons. One of the worst things you can do in an interview is ignore this fact and breach the interviewer’s personal bubble. It is unlikely that you are a close friend or partner to your interviewer, so remember to give them the space that you’d give a stranger- not an intimate friend. Give them their space, unless they have explicitly made it known that they want you to breach it (handshakes, etc.)
Recognize Your Posture- If you slouch you look like a slouch. If you lean back and relax, you look too laid back. You want to sit up straight and look attentive. This is a subtle cue for the interviewer that you are a motivated and attentive employee. You want to look situated and confident, without coming off as arrogant.
Make Eye Contact- Making eye contact shows that you are confident and able to meet challenges, avoiding eye contact makes you seem nervous and incapable, or sometimes even rude. This does not mean you should have a staring contest with your interviewer, but if they are making eye contact you need to respond to it. If you are one of the many people that feels nervous when making eye contact, try looking at your interviewer’s forehead instead! This looks almost identical to eye contact, but is not quite so nerve racking!
Avoid Nervous Tics- These come in all kinds of different forms, but none of them help you out. You certainly don’t want to start biting your nails in the middle of your interview, but also don’t want to play with your hair, or touch your face too much. These, at best, make you look uneasy and show a lack of confidence- and can also be taken as signs of boredom or disinterest. The last thing you want to do is talk about your confidence and attentiveness while looking like you are incapable of either of those attributes!
Smile- Everyone loves a smile. Not only will this help you come off as confident and charming, it will also help you feel more confident and charming! We feel better when we smile than when we frown, so if you can manage a few throughout your interview everything will go a little better.
Body language cannot write a resume, but it can destroy one! When going to your next interview keep these things in mind. They could make or break your interview!