When you appear for an interview it is very important that you keep in mind a number of things at the same time you must ensure that you are able to give quality answers which are bound to impress the interviewer. It is why therefore people find interviews so very frightful as well as daunting.
One of the most important things to keep in mind during an interview is your body language skills. Given here is the importance of body language during your job interview and it is bound to help you along the way.
Effective Body Language During Interview:
The following mentioned are few tips that explain the body language importance in an interview.
1. It is a reflection to your personality:
The manner in which you act will give a strong index to your personality in general. Companies do not merely want employees who have many qualifications and a lot of working experience rather they want employees who have powerful personalities and will be able to reflect perfectly exactly what the company stands for.
People who are book smart and have a lot of theoretical knowledge are not necessarily those people who are able to propel in a professional set up.
So if you want to really do well in the corporate world ensure that you look into every aspect of yourself and constantly try to better yourself.
2. Points to whether you’re a good speaker or not:
Your body language signs exhibits a great deal about whether you are a good speaker or not. A person who is a good speaker will be able to use his body posture in an effective manner in order to get his point across effectively. Something like this might not come easy to everyone, yet over time it is something which can be mastered.
It is up to you whether you would like to be content being only a mediocre candidate at the time of an interview or you would like to knock the socks, off the recruiter. Mediocrity is something which no one is content with anymore.
3. Shows whether you have a professional stance or not:
One of the main reasons why effective body language plays such an important role during an interview is because it points to the fact whether you have a professional stance or not.
The manner in which you behave during an interview is likely to be a reflection of how you are likely to act in the course of your employment at the company.
If you are confused about what you ought to do then you can always speak to an experienced person in the field and ask how you are expected to behave. Depends on the field which you have selected for yourself, your body language is likely to change.
Body language at the Time of Interview
1. Displaying that you are attentive:
You body language communication should be such that during the interview you put forth the idea that you are very attentive and that no matter how tired you are, you are always at the top of your game, attentive to even the smallest of things.
Being a keen observer attentive to everything around you is bound to help you along the way and that is why you should ensure that through your body language gestures, you portray that you are someone who has a large attention span.
2. Showing that you are a keen listener:
Your body language in interview should necessarily point to the fact that you are someone who is a keen listener with good comprehension skills.
It is not merely enough to give the impression of having understood anything through your body language, you should necessarily take it all in and come up with some powerful and thought-provoking answers.
Your body language is going to be satisfactory and confident only if you are well prepared for your interview and know what you are talking about.
3. Implying that you are eager to put forth your own views:
Through your body language you should portray that you are someone who is opinionated and that you aren’t afraid to put forth your views no matter what.
Based on your body language for interview you can show whether you are someone that commands respect or whether you are someone who simply follows the herd.
Remember that you must always try and give your best during the course of an interview because if you do not do so, then chances are that someone else is going to come and grab this opportunity from you.
4. Showing that you are mature as an individual or rather like child:
Your body language should necessarily show that you are someone who is mature and responsible. If you have a flippant and care free body language then you are most certainly not going to be able to bag the job.
So have your wits about you at all points in time and ensure that you do not act in a manner which is unprofessional or do something which is certainly going to make them frown upon you.
Body Language While Being Interviewed:
1. Your back should be straight:
One of the most important things to keep in mind in terms of understanding body language when being interviewed is that your back should be straight at all points in time. Letting your back slouch or sitting in a crouched up posture is bound to reflect very badly on you and show you as someone who is rather closed and non receptive.
Companies are not looking out to hire employees such as these, as employees are expected to interact with customers regularly and they wouldn’t want someone who is unable to even sit in the correct posture.
2. You should have your legs crossed:
Sitting with your legs crossed is something which you need not be even told to do as right from our school days. It is something which we have been taught to do and by now this should come rather naturally to us.
No matter what you do ensure that you do not keep shaking your legs or twisting your toes. No matter how nervous you are on the inside you cannot let it reflect in any way on the outside.
3. You ought to make smart gestures:
Making smart as well as apt gestures with your hands is something that is bound to make you come across as being rather a good orator. The more you are able to make gestures to stress your point, the better it is going to be for you.
When you do this then you will certainly come across as someone who is used to public speaking.
In addition to this another things which you ought to do is nod your head to show that you are attentive to whatever is being said to you and that you are trained to be a good listener and take instructions too.
4. Your tone of voice should also be in keeping with your body language:
It is very important to show that your tone of voice and the content of what you are saying are perfectly in keeping with your body language.
Things might come across as rather ironical if your words, actions, body language and tone of voice are all opposed to one another. Contradicting yourself is something which is bound to create a bad impression.
5. Maintaining eye contact is very important:
One of the most important things you ought to remember is to ensure that you maintain body language at all points in time.
It is only someone who is not confident in himself and his own abilities that is going to shy away from maintaining eye contact. So keep this in mind while you walk in for your interview.
How to Read Interviewer’s Body Language:
1. To know whether they are in a hurry or not:
In addition to keeping in mind your own body language, it is important for reading body language of the interviewer. You must answer in accordance with what his body language is trying to put across.
To know if he is in a hurry or not, you have to note his stance. If he is in a hurry he is bound to be shaking his fingers or feet in a nervous manner or he will even be speaking rather quickly.
In such a case, answer as briskly and to the point as you can without compromising on the details to the best of your ability. Do not put your own chances of getting the job into jeopardy because of him being in a hurry.
2. To know whether they want long answers or not:
Interviewers are of different kinds. Some like long and detailed answers and there are those which prefer short and to the point answers. It is very important indeed that you spot the kind of person your interviewer is so that you are able to mould your answers accordingly.
If your interviewer keeps nodding while you are speaking it implies that he would like you to elaborate further and explicate on your past projects as well as work history. These signs are rather subtle so ensure that you remain attentive.
3. To know whether they are friendly or not:
Knowing whether they are friendly by nature or rather stern and strict can also help you to change your answers accordingly. Though whatever the body language of your interviewer is, you have to ensure that you answer to the best of your ability, yet having a friendly interviewer might put you at ease making your performance better.
A strict interviewer is unlikely to smile or have any kind of welcoming gestures or gestures of endearment. So ensure that you do not mix up any of the signs as that could surely spell disaster for you.
Good and Bad Body Language for Job Interviews:
The following are a few good body language tips to follow and bad body language tips to avoid during a job interview.
1. Don’t try to get too comfortable:
It is indeed a bad thing to get to comfortable in your seat and lounge on it as though it were your drawing room. Put yourself at ease while sitting down but ensure that you adhere to all the body language rules mentioned above.
2. Be confident in your actions:
There is a hell and heaven difference between a person who has a confident body language and a person who doesn’t.
Companies are on the lookout for those individuals who are sure about themselves and do not go out of their way to seek approval or sanction for work which they are doing.
So it is a very good thing indeed to have your confidence come shining forth through your actions and your words. Use simple body language tips to the best of your ability,
3. Don’t attract too much attention to your body though:
One of the worst things you can do in terms of body language when you go for your interview is give so much attention to the manner in which you are using your body, almost giving the impression that you are using your body to be able to secure the job.
This is something which is not merely unethical but also very weird. So ensure that you act in a befitting manner and do not go overboard with anything at any point in time.
Conclusion:
Having the right kind of body language during interview does a long way in impressing the recruiters. If you do not exhibit the right kind of body language then you will end up creating a very negative impression in the mind of the recruiters.
As minute and unimportant as these things might sound to you, it is these very things which are going to set you apart from the rest.
Qualifications and experience is something which everyone has nowadays, it is integrity, good manners, honesty and diligence which are hard to find. So ensure that your body language points to the fact and silently communicates these things.
