The Importance Of Body Language In An Interview:
By Cham Posted Date: September 05, 2017
Finally got called in for an interview taking you one step closer to your dream job? Great stuff! But the job application journey isn’t over yet, you now have to ace the interview to ensure you are hired.
When it comes to the interview there are several things to consider from your outfit choice, practice questions and interview scenarios down to remembering technical details and past experience. Once of these things rarely spoken about is your body language. Your body language can impact the outcome of your interview and it’s essential that you portray the right message (via body language).
The majority of job applicants are unaware of the small hints we subconsciously give out by the way we sit, the expressions on our face and at times nervous ticks. Experts believe that your posture and position can provide insight into your character, discussed below are some points to think about when it comes to body language:
Awareness: The first step is to be aware of all your non-verbal cues, how do you react when in a high pressure situation (more so how does your body react), what body language do you portray in an interview type situation. Being aware of what you do in such situations can be of great advantage during interviews, because knowing how you show case your body language (especially the negative) can help you do better.
Maintaining Personal Space: Studies have shown that every single person has an average personal space of about 4ft. This increases and reduces depending on how well you know the person you are communicating with. It is essential not to breach the personal space of your interviewer when making an effort to communicate better. For instance avoid leaning too close or reaching across the interviewers personal space as it can make them uncomfortable (even without them actively realising it is).
The way you sit: How you position yourself and the way you sit can relate to how you feel about the interview and your comfort level. For example, a person who hunches over or slouches can appear to be closed off and uncomfortable where as a person who leans back and stretches out in their chair portrays comfort and power.
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