Tag Archive for Job Interview

Job Interview Body Language

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

More than anything else during a job interview is the overall impression you leave with your prospective employer. Your credentials including your resume and even what you say will all be long forgotten minutes after you leave the interviewer’s office. They may recall certain things you said, but they won’t key in on them specifically. Instead the interviewer will key in on how you said them. In fact, most studies agree that job interviews are a fairly unproductive affair, as how you are rated, and whether or not you are hired, has more to do with how much you are liked by the interviewer than any other factor.

Body language during an interview is simple. All that is required of you is to convey that you are competent, qualified and most importantly, that you will fit in with the current company’s structure without causing problems. This raises a common misconception about job interviews which says that standing out from the other applicants is the goal, but in reality, fitting in should be your primary objective. The following are some tips to taking a proper interview.

Double Arm Hug

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

She might be cold, or she might want to feel protected.

She might be cold, or she might want to feel protected.

Hugging one’s self is a defensive and closed body position. Those who take up this posture invariably exclaim that they are cold, which is sometimes the case, but usually the cold sensation is a function of feeling awkward and uptight. When temperature is actually a factor, the arms will cross and the hands will be tucked under the armpits in effort to heat them up. Other times, the arms will hug the body tightly in a full embrace but they will shiver and hold their legs stiff crossing them tightly as if they need to use the washroom. If these cues are not present, and we still see a double arm hug it’s due to feeling uncomfortable and not feeling cold. By watching for all the cues in the cluster it is easy to tell which attitude is really present.

Those that habitually cross their arms are usually not aware that they are sending a bad message to others. However, arm crossing is a universally defensive posture so it is important to be aware of its use. In a business meeting or in a job interview holding the double arm hug posture will be read by others as being disagreeable even if the person really is cold. This effect might pass over if other’s feel the same chill, but when only one person in the room is seen looking uncomfortable, they will sense that something is up, even if just subconsciously. Those that are timid and shy by nature can also get the short end of the stick as others will quickly dismiss them as rude or antisocial.

When someone complains of feeling cold where the room temperature doesn’t warrant it, is a direct response to a limbic brain command that shunts blood from the skin toward the major muscles in preparation for the fight or flight response. The large muscles like the legs and arm need blood in order to prepare for combat and escape. This is largely in effect when people seem to go pale when under extreme stress and why others lose their apatite when under pressure. Again the blood moves away from the intestines toward the major muscles producing a cold sensation on the surface of the skin as blood moves deeper.

Theory Of Jokes, Humour And What Is Appropriate

by  • March 5, 2013 • 0 Comments

The theory of how humour works has been extensively studied. The actual numbers of theories and reasons for making us laugh is well over eighty but some of the more common reasons we laugh include irony, slapstick, black humour, satire and farce. Most humour though, has roots in surprise, that is, the joke or physical stunt has a result that we didn’t expect, and so this un-expected result makes us excited. Sometimes we laugh at the misfortune, stupidity or clumsiness of someone else, because for that moment, we feel superior to them.

Jokes must always be situational and contextually appropriate. In the right company, almost anything goes, but when in the office, or around mixed company, censorship is a must. Self deprecating humour is almost always a good way to open joking because the only victim is oneself. However, during a job interview, it would be silly to joke about one’s inadequacies. We definitely need to make ourselves appear more equal to our peers and self jokes can do this. Amongst a new crowed, self deprecating humour can show that we aren’t uptight or feel superior to others.

In the workplace, dirty, sexist, racial and religious jokes need to be particularly avoided. Men, more so than women, will welcome sexist jokes, but there are always exceptions to any norm. Most men will feel uncomfortable with sexist jokes poking fun at women, especially when women are present. Racial or sexist jokes that offend others of which the teller isn’t a part, can also tread on shaky ground. For example, it is generally accepted to make a joke about men, if you are male or likewise a woman if female but if white, making a black joke will appear racist rather than funny. This has roots in self deprecating humour, where making fun of yourself is fair game, but making fun of others can be rude with the wrong audience. While jokes that make fun of the opposite sex or members of other groups tend to elicit the most positive reaction, they are also the most risky. Jokes that make fun of a shared identity also tend to go over well. When unsure however, it’s best to use universal jokes or playful jokes and avoid potentially risky jokes. When on new turf, let your environment predict which jokes are most welcome.

Eye Contact During A Job Interview

by  • March 5, 2013 • 0 Comments

Eye contact during an interview has been repeatedly found to have a powerful influence on the interviewer. Interviewees who hold good eye contact tend to receive more favourable hiring decisions, to be rated more positively and to be rated more suitable for jobs requiring self confidence.

The most appropriate types of eye contact in an interview have been shown through research to be about two to three second bursts of eye contact followed by looking away. Looking down continuously or avoiding eye contact altogether, or conversely, holding extended eye contact can all result in poor judgment. Continuous shifting of the eyes around the room can come off as dishonest and can make people think that you are expecting to be bust at anytime. For what, the interviewee doesn’t know, but he will remain suspicious nonetheless. Looking toward the door or appearing distracted by what is going on outside a window will only serve to demonstrate your lack of interest in the job position and negative feelings will be attached to you personally. Poor eye contact might also be taken by the interviewer personally and he may become offended. As interviewees, we must pay particular attention to good eye contact while listening and while speaking. Most of us are good at one, but not both, but being aware of our shortcomings is at least a good first step. So don’t dismiss good eye language in an interview and follow the patterns described above: two to three second bursts of eye contact followed by looking away.

You Have Four Minutes!

by  • March 5, 2013 • 2 Comments

You're on the clock, so make it count!

You’re on the clock, so make it count!

It has been repeatedly shown that the first four minutes are crucial to formulating life-long impressions of others. The research has shown that the reality of the matter is that it might even be shorter than this. [!dw-post-more level=”0″]Once a judgment has been past, people will vigorously resist changing it. In fact, our first impressions are so strongly held, that we’d prefer to ignore, omit or distort information about someone as it comes in that doesn’t fit our impressions than to modify our initial impressions of someone. Add to this, the fact that only some our time formulating impressions is done verbally through speaking, but all of our time is spent sending signals nonverbally. Our impressions are made passively, regardless of our desire to create them, so being caught on an off day can really hurt future relationship. If, say, for example, we are caught in a bad mood, or happen to be dealing with a rare crisis, the judgment others make during this period will follow us for a very long time. Shy people who take longer to warm up to others know this all to well and are often reminded of this fact later. As their relationships flourish, friends will tell them how their initial impressions of them were quite different from the person they have come to know. Being shy holds their true personalities from sight, and this hurts them in the short term because the initial impression they make comes across as indifferent and cold.

Knowing that impressions are so important, we can use it to our advantage by placing added emphasis on initial impressions and concentrate our efforts. Once this time has elapsed, we can either relax back to our regular selves and allow our newly created reputation to keep us afloat, or maintain out initial behaviour. The choice will be ours to make. This book will cover the all important job interview and skills to portray confidence and knowledgeable and how to pack it all into the typical four minute interview. Fortunately, this book is almost entirely about formulating and maintaining good impression. [/dw-post-more]So the rule here is to never ignore the power of first impressions. More often than not, first impressions are the ones that last for an entire relationship and can’t be easily corrected later. I should also emphasis that what you ‘say’ is often far less important than what you ‘do’. Listening, and using strong body language will illustrate a much stronger impression then being a good speaker, so always pay more credence to positive body language.