Don't Let Body Language Ruin Your Job Interview！

By ROBERT PARKINSON

Don't Let Body Language Ruin Your Job Interview！

By ROBERT PARKINSON

HAVE you ever kept your eyes groundward while otherwise presenting yourself eloquently at a job interview？People who do often wonder why they fail to get the job despite having made exhaustive preparations and taken into consideration every possible interview question. To a large extent，the problem is not about your verbal preparation but rather your body language at an interview. According to Professor Albert Mehrabian，“Only seven percent of the message is delivered through language. The other 93 percent is through your voice （38 percent） and gestures （55 percent）.” Preparing your body language for an interview is crucial，because it has various meanings in different cultures.

And how does the language of gestures vary between Chinese and Western society？ Instead of examining the theory，let's focus on the most practical and easily ignored gesture - the handshake. American body language expert and author of many books on body language Patti Wood once said，“Most of the hiring decisions are made in the first 10 seconds of an interview.”The way you shake the interviewer's hand could create the first impression you make. As we all know，a weak handshake implies lack of confidence. But is it wise to use a powerful handshake？ It depends. This would not be a problem if you were shaking hands with a Westerner as they are reputed to appreciate a firm handshake. But for Asian people a gentler handshake is better，as an overpowerful grip might seem offensive.

Hand gestures are another major difference. Western prospective employers are likely to appreciate interviewees who use their hands expressively，and to assume that those who keep their hands hidden are either distrustful or lacking in confidence. The opposite applies in Asia，where recruitment personnel interpret flamboyant body language as signaling low or inconsistent work performance stability. Be sure，therefore，to keep your hand gestures to a minimum at interviews with local companies in China.

There are，apart from these two differences，other elements of body language that could ruin your interview wherever you are. You should not avoid eye contact with your interviewer. That doesn't mean you should glare directly into the interviewer's eyes. The best point of focus would be a little lower than the middle point. Secondly，you shouldn't touch your nose，lips or forehead. This tells the interviewer that you are either extremely nervous or lying. Lastly，never jiggle your legs or fold your arms. There are plenty reasons for leg jiggling - emotional stress，restless leg syndrome，or just a bad habit. Such body language delivers clearly the message that you feel uneasy and want to escape as quickly as possible. Likewise，crossing your arms implies that you are either on the defensive or bored.

A research item entitled “Non-Verbal Clues in Job Interviews” published in Applied Psychology magazine 30 years ago，found that interviewers spotted a high correlation between motivation，social skills and hireablility. Job seekers hence communicate their motivation and social skills through their body language. This crucial factor determines your fate in any job interview，which is why I cannot overemphasize the significance of body language and gestures. If you now recall your last failed interview，perhaps it is easier to understand why you didn't get the job.

ROBERT PARKINSON is CEO & founder of RMG Selection，an international recruitment organization whose Asia-Pacific region offices are located in Beijing，Tianjin，Shanghai，Hong Kong and Singapore.