During an interview the oral communication you have when you face the recruiter is not enough to convince him of hiring you. Your body language also says a lot about you. For example if you adopt an opened body language, it could give the impression that you lack professionalism. On the other hand if you adopt a closed one, you could appear as someone who does not care much. It is crucial to avoid giving those impressions if you want to get the job. It is even more true considering the fact that in a professional environment, more likely during an interview, the first impressions are very important. If the person you talked to did not grab a positive impression of you from the first time you have met, he will not automatically want to call you for a second round interview. You must adopt a good body language. But how to do that? Follow our advice…
Things to do to adopt the best body language at an interview
For a lot of candidates most of the time, a job interview is something very stressful that could unfortunately make them miss out on huge opportunities because their body language sent the wrong message. First of all, you must make the effort to look at yourself in the mirror to see if your overall image is good. The other thing to do will be to make sure to not show that you are nervous. In order to do that, you must prepare yourself before you walk into the door of the company. You will just need to take a few minutes to take deep breaths. It will allow you to talk slowly and not be out of breath in the first moments of the interview. Once you are in front of the people you will be speaking to, greet them with a firm handshake and maintain a good eye contact to show them that you are ready to seat down and talk. Once you are invited to do so, sit up straight on your chair. Keep in mind that interviews are business meetings. Therefore, you must not give the impression that you are meeting with friends or your potential recruiter will think that you don’t take it seriously. Smile and show your enthusiasm with a positive gesture (for example nodding your head to show that you agree).
Things not to do at a job interview
Some behaviors can make the candidate appear as if he was nervous or wanted to leave the job interview right away. That is the case when, for example, you wriggle, or pound on the table or play with an object in your hands. Swinging your legs give the impression that you are distracted and the recruiter will not be thrilled about that. Avoid crossing your arms on your chest. Having this closed posture might give the impression that you are guarded or feel uncomfortable to have a conversation. Don’t be scratching or rubbing your head or your body. Those movements are signs of you being anxious. The person you are talking to might believe that you are trying to hide something and will not think that it has something to do with you being nervous because you are at a job interview. Finally, do not ever seat down without prior permission to do so. It could convey some type of cockiness or rudeness on your part. If you avoid making all those mistakes, you will be adopt the positive and opened body language that will work on your favor and give your more chances of getting the job.