Confidence and Poise - How Body Language impacts interview first impression

Body Language: They Key to
Building Confidence and Poise

by John Gates

Body Language is the last significant piece of first impression artwork.

After being on time , looking good, and shaking well , a picture of who you are, complete with personality characteristics and work habits, is forming in your interviewer’s mind. Your eye-contact, energy level, and body language will now either float your boat or sink you altogether.

Eye Contact and First Impression

Eye is critical and carries yet more information to the interviewer. Candidates with poor eye contact are routinely suspected of hiding something.

The worst thing about eye contact and body language is that the interviewer may not even realize why he’s judged someone poorly. Body language clues are culturally driven, often subconscious, and very strong influencers of opinion.

I remember a couple of years ago when I phone screened an outstanding e-commerce applications developer. He had rare technical skills and gave solid examples of success under deadline pressure, working well with peers, and negotiating goals with his manager. The candidate came in to interview with the hiring manager. Before I’d had a chance to interview the candidate face-to-face, I passed the hiring manager in the hallway.

"Stan," I said, "so, how’d it go this morning with Sanjay? Is there anything you’d like me to follow up on during my interview?"

"No, I don’t thing this guy is going to work out. What other candidates do you have in the pipeline?"

"Uh, before we go there, what was it about Sanjay you didn’t like? He did very well with me on the phone."

"Well," Stan stopped for a bit to think. His eyes drifted upward as he replayed the interview in his mind. "I didn’t get a very comfortable feeling about that guy. He was… shifty. I just didn’t believe anything he was telling me. You know?"

"Yeah, I think I know," I said. "So, what did he say?"

"Uh, it’s not so much what he said, but how he said it. I don’t think he looked me in the eye the whole time we were talking, and he slouched. I just didn’t think he’d fit in here."

Stan had just made a classic interviewer’s blunder in listening more to his first impression gut feeling than to Sanjay’s answers, the cultural message Sanjay sent with no eye contact and slouching was so powerful to Stan, he just couldn’t hear the quality through all the non-verbal noise.

Of course, I reminded him that in India (Sanjay’s home country), it’s considered rude and challenging to look a supervisor directly in the eye, but the damage had already been done. Stan had formed his opinion and rejected Sanjay before the fourth minute was up.

In the United States, eye-contact with your interviewer is expected. For many interviewers, eye-contact is so important they will absolutely reject without it. Eye contact in North America suggests an open and honest dialogue. Lack of eye contact, conversely, means you are lying, shameful, or embarrassed. If you don’t look your interviewer in the eye, he’ll get a subconscious whiff of dishonesty, and that’s not the perfume you want to be wearing.

Improving Your Eye Contact

If you’re uncomfortable looking strangers in the eye when you meet them, you absolutely have to get over it for the sake of your interview success. Practice, practice, practice. Go to the mall and look the cashier in the eye. Look the fast food clerk in the eye. Look the bank teller in the eye. Practice until you don’t recoil, and practice with strangers.

Of course, constant eye-contact is not always wise either. There are times when you will break eye contact to think about the answer to an interview question, and this is quite normal. When you answer the question, return to the interviewer’s face, and talk to me, not the floor.

What Posture Says About You

Body-carriage can also be important. It’s far better to lean slightly forward during the interview, as this shows you are interested in what the interviewer has to say, and you are excited about the interview. To slouch, on the other had, screams that you are bored and apathetic. Would you want to hire an apathetic employee? I certainly wouldn’t recommend it.

The Importance of Energy Level

Lastly, the energy-level you display during your interview is very important. Ask questions, be curious about the business, and show some excitement.

Lots (or lack) of energy comes through your handshake, but make sure you follow that up with excitement during the interview. Again, you don’t want to come off as passive, uncaring, or apathetic. Nobody wants to hire those characteristics. handshake , but make sure you follow that up with excitement during the interview. Again, you don’t want to come off as passive, uncaring, or apathetic. Nobody wants to hire those characteristics.

Tips for Improving Body Language and Energy Level

Sadly, most of us are blind to our body language. Here are some quick tips to polishing up your body language to maximize your first impression:

Practice with people you’re comfortable with.
Get feedback from your practice dummies
Videotape your practice interviews , if possible, and observe your style. What do you see?
While you’re watching your videotape, turn off the sound. Answer these questions:

How engaged are you?
How charismatic are you?
Are you smiling or scowling?
Are you leaning forward or slouching?
Do you have any nervous habits that are unflattering?
Are you an energizer bunny or a dead fish?
Are you looking your interviewer in the eye most of the time?

One last energy level tip: In a phone screen interview, try standing up during your conversation. I have noticed that candidates who stand during phone interviews tend to express higher energy level than those who don't. Odd, but true.