Job Interview Tips
1. Sit all the way back in your seat.
Sit fimly and lean your back straight against the chair.
It's the first thing Glass recommends an automatic
signal of assurance and confidence. If you're a natural
sloucher, pretend there's a string pulling you up from
the crown of your head.
2. Don't go for direct eye contact.
Instead, go for "direct face contact," Glass
recommends. A more effective way to ensure you look
interested and engaged is to look different parts of
someone's face every two seconds, rotating from eyes,
to nose, to lips, so you're never just drilling into the
interviewer's eyes.
3. Use hand gestures while speaking.
If you're not sure what to do with your hands, go
ahead and gesture while speaking.
"When youre really nervous, you tend to want to hide
your hands because they express your anxiety," Wood
tells Mashable. Keeping your hands hidden can be
misinterpreted as distrustful behavior.
4. Show your palms.
When your palms are up, it signals honesty and
engagement. The limbic brain picks up the positivity,
which will make the interviewer comfortable, Wood
says.
"Its one of the reasons we shake hands, to show the
open palm," Wood says. "Its so tied to survival
instincts ... If we dont see open palm gestures, it puts
us on our guard."
In general, upward-facing body language, such as
open palms, smiles and straight posture, also makes
you look energetic, Glass says.
5. Plant your feet on the ground.
Wood and Reiman both recommend keeping feet
firmly the ground. Women should never cross at the
knees, but rather the ankles, "as this allows them to
switch if necessary without being obvious."
There's also a scientific benefit to keeping your feet
grounded.
"Its not impossible, but its difficult to answer highly
complex questions unless both of your feet are on the
ground," Wood says. "It has to do with being able to
go back and forth easily between the limbic reptilian
brain to the neocortex brain."
In layman's terms, planted feet can help you go
between creative thought and highly complex rational
thought.
6. Work on your walk.
Interviewers often make a hiring judgment within the
first 10 seconds of meeting you, Wood says. How you
walk into the room is a part of that judgment.
"Shoulders pulled back and neck elongated, each
stride should be roughly one to two feet wide,"
Reiman says. "Walk directly toward the person you are
meeting with every body part pointing in his direction,
maintaining eye contact with occasional breaks to the
side."
7. Breathe deeply, and speak on the exhale.
One way to soothe interview nerves is to breathe
properly. Reiman, Wood and Glass all recommend
focusing on the breath as a vital part of the interview
process. Glass recommends inhaling when the
interviewer asks you a question, then speaking on the
exhale, following the air flow.
"Deep breathing engages our parasympathetic
reaction, which calms us down," Reiman says. She
recommends taking 10 deep, diaphragmatic breaths
before the interview, because it "reduces our heart
rate, blood pressure and stress hormone level."
8. Nod your head while listening.
Aside from keeping eye and face contact, nodding
your head while listening is an additional way to show
attentiveness.
"Nod your head occasionally to let them know you are
enjoying and understand what is being said," Reiman
explains.
9. Lean in.
Leaning in is a natural thing to do when you're
engaged in a conversation, Wood says. Reiman
suggests the same leaning slightly forward (keeping
your shoulders back and down, and your chest high)
demonstrates interest.
"Your posture is an integral part of your nonverbal
conversation."
BONUS: For phone interviews...
If you don't have the benefit of a face to face interview,
Wood recommends getting up and walking while on a
phone interview. Much like planting your feet, it helps
"sync the left and right hemisphere" of the brain,
making your answers sharper.
Job Interview Body Language Tips
Before the Interview
Put on your confidence even before the interview
commences. In the waiting area, have good posture
while standing and sitting. Keep your back straight
and your chin parallel to the ground. While you may
not have met your interviewer at this point, it's still
possible that the receptionist or potential future co-
workers are observing you.
When you sit down to wait, place your briefcase or
purse to the left side of your chair that will reduce
awkwardness when you have to shake the
interviewer's hand, and grab your personal items.
The Interview Kick-Off: The Handshake
Most likely, the handshake will be your only moment
of physical contact with the interviewer. Studies say
that handshakes play a significant role in first
impressions, so make it count.
Your shake should be neither bone crushing, nor limp
fish. Aim for a firm handshake, and as you shake, make
eye contact and smile.
Read a step-by-step guide to how to introduce
yourself during a job interview.
During the Interview
While first impressions do count for a lot, it's during
your conversation that interviewers will have an
extended time to take you in.
Your answers to questions are important, as is your
stance while listening and responding. Keep these
body language tips in mind:
Posture and Sitting Style: First and foremost: No
slumping! Keep your back straight. Lean forward
slightly to indicate interest. Do not recline back into
the chair fully; this can make you seem bored or
disengaged.
Avoid crossing your arms or placing items in your lap;
these habits indicate defensiveness, nerves, and a
need for self-protection, when what you'd ideally
convey during an interview is confidence.
Tip: If you're offered a choice of seating, opt for the
straight-backed chair plush, cushioned chairs and
couches may be comfy, but it's hard to sit gracefully
within them.
Avoid Crossing Your Legs: Most experts recommend
against crossed legs. With a long interview, you might
need to re-cross them because your leg is falling
asleep. This could come across as fidgeting.
Suppress Restless Habits: Speaking of fidgetingif
you're a nail-biter, knuckle cracker, hair twirler, or leg
tapper, don't allow these habits to make an
appearance during the interview. All will appear
unprofessional and convey nerves. Plus: Most of these
actions are generally considered impolite.
Use Your Hands: Do you naturally talk with your hands?
Go ahead and let them move during the interview.
Stopping the natural gestures may lead to an awkward
appearance. Just make sure your motions don't
become so enthusiastic that they distract from your that will stick, but a graceful goodbye is just as
words. important as a classy hello.

Eye Contact: It's important to make eye contact during Your aim is to always keep the focus on the
your interview, but dont mistake that for a directive conversation, so keep your expression interested,
to make constant eye contact. That is disconcerting your posture confident and your head high from the
and aggressive. At the same time, avoiding eye contact moment you arrive in the lobby until the second
entirely comes across as untrustworthy and distant youre a safe distance away.
it could make it seem like your answers are dishonest.
Balance it out: Aim to make eye contact as you listen
and respond to questions, but allow it to break
occasionally, and let your eyes wander. Think: How
would I make eye contact if I were chatting with a
friend?

Do: Smile

Smile and nod where appropriate, and laugh when the

interviewer does. You want to show you have a
personality and youre paying attention to whats
being said.

It goes without saying that you should listen

attentively and try not to interrupt. Focus on keeping
your tone of voice even and polite. Too soft and youll
seem timid, too loud and youll seem domineering.

Dont: Move about

This includes tapping your fingertips in the arm rest or

jiggling your leg up or down. Its a sign of boredom and
impatience. Keep both feet planted firmly on the floor
to avoid the temptation. Itll help to keep your posture
straight and focussed on your interviewer, which in
turn will make you seem more focused.

Do: Mirror

You can quickly get on good terms with your

interviewer by matching their positive body language.

But do so sparingly and carefully, if youre too bold

youre more likely to frighten the poor interviewer!
Mirroring a nod or a subtle shift in posture can create
common ground between two people, while matching
a handshake is always a good equaliser. When it
comes to handshakes, always remember to stick to
the middle ground. Too firm is arrogance, too weak is
a pushover.

Most importantly, be respectful and keep a

professional personal distance at all times. The first
image the interviewer has of you is most likely the one