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Maintain Eye Contact
Keeping eye contact with your interviewer is very important, especially when one of you is speaking to the other. If you are looking around the room or at the items on the interviewer’s desk, you will appear uninterested. Just imagine what you would be thinking if you were speaking to him and he was looking all over the room. You would probably think that you already lost the interview.
Body Language
We’ve touched on this a little bit but you should mind some of the common errors that many people make when they are speaking to others. I’ve listed some of the common things that you should avoid when sitting through an interview.
Avoid fidgeting while speaking to your interviewer. It shows a lack of self confidence.
Avoid speaking while using overly expressive hand gestures. It is distracting.
Avoid biting your lips in between sentences. It gives the impression that you are making things up.
Do not sit with your arms crossed because it makes you appear stand-offish.
Do not shrug your shoulders when asked a question that you are unsure of. Take a second to think of your response. Shrugging your shoulders gives the impression that you don’t know the answer.
Don’t answer with nods and head shakes. Use your words to answer questions.
Get plenty of sleep the night before the interview. You don’t want to yawn in front of the interviewer. He will think that you are expressing boredom.
Your First Impression
First impressions can be a hard thing to get past in any situation. During an interview you want to give the best first impression that you can. There are many small things that you can do to assure that you give the best impression possible. They are as follows:
You can never be too polite to the person that directs to your waiting area when waiting to be interviewed. A small gesture like, asking how they are doing can work wonders for you when you leave the building later.
While waiting to be interviewed, sit properly and behave as if everyone passing you by is your potential interviewer. (They just might be) Smile at people as much as possible. Do not act impatient or bored, it sends the wrong message. Some interviewers will keep you waiting just to see how you handle yourself.
Greet you interviewer with a firm handshake and a smile.
Remain standing until your interviewer asks you to be seated. It is simply polite and shows proper etiquette.
Again, dress according to the type of job that you are applying for.
Show yourself to be well organized, by having all things needed for the interview.
While waiting do not eat or drink anything.
Don’t chat on your cell phone while waiting for your interviewer. It makes you look distracted.
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