First Impressions most important
You have heard it said, “First impressions make lasting impressions”. This is very true whenever we meet someone for the first time. Typically, when we meet someone, we “take him or her in” on two different levels, the analytical and the intuitive.
The analytical is what we think of an individual. The intuitive is how we feel about an
individual. The same dynamics described above are also found in the interview. We
need to be aware of first impressions and how we can use them to our full advantage.
Communications Skills
To help you to make a positive first impression in the interview, let’s examine the importance of communication skills. The three forms of communications skills we will examine are your body language, speaking, and listening.
Body Language
Both your words and your behavior will affect whether you establish a connection with the interviewer. When you meet the potential employer or human resources officer, you will want to show that you are confident, trusting, open, attentive, and eager, but restrained.
All of this can be communicated in a handshake. Make sure that your hand is about perpendicular to the floor. If you extend your hand with your palm facing down, you indicate that you need to be in control-something that can be off-putting in an interview scenario. If you extend your hand with your palm facing up, you can appear overly docile. Try extending your hand with your palm relatively flat, so that you offer to make full contact with the other person's hand. If you cup your hand, you indicate that you mistrust the other person.
Your posture throughout the interview indicates whether you are open and attentive, or somehow withdrawn from the interviewer. Leaning back shows boredom or sometimes insolence. It is better to sit up straight and lean forward just slightly, facing the interviewer directly. Crossing your arms in front of you may indicate that you are somehow defensive, whether from insecurity or mistrust. Try to keep your arms open, even if your legs are crossed.
Eye contact is crucial. Look the person in the eye when you are speaking and listening. To avoid giving the interviewer the impression that you are boring through him with your transfixed gaze, take breaks and look away to the right or left.
Listening
The following are some basic tips on being a good listener:
- Give your full attention to the interviewer. Don’t look out the window or at what else is going on in the room.
- Let the interviewer finish a question before you begin to talk. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.
- Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the interviewer has said, just ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the interviewer said so that you can be sure your understanding is correct.
- Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the interviewer. Now and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the interviewer know that you are really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!
A common perception of job interviews is that the interviewer controls the interview. Remember, you interview as equals. The object is not to control or be controlled but to find a mutually advantageous situation for bot h parties. An interview can be defined as having a conversation. As in any conversation, there is a certain give and take in the process. Anytime you speak, whether in an interview or daily communication, you control the direction of the conversation. Observe this point in your own daily conversations. Typically, we flow from one subject to another. The same can be said in the interview process. If in the interview, we find ourselves in an area uncomfortable to us, we can guide the conversation away from that subject.
Here are some basic tips to remember when speaking in a job interview:
- Look at the interviewer. Communication is a two-way process. Always make steady eye contact with the interviewer.
- Ask questions. A good way to capture the interviewer’s attention is to ask a question.
- Speak slowly and loudly.
- If you are not a native speaker of English, do not feel embarrassed about your accent when you answer questions in an interview. Feel proud that by communicating in a second language, you are exhibiting a talent that many of your competitors may lack.
