Researchers at the Indiana University Placement Office videotaped employment interviews and found surprising differences in the ways that successful job seekers performed during interviews versus those who were later unsuccessful.
The study found that many of the candidates who were given the highest marks "on paper" before they were interviewed did not make the final list of candidates to be hired.
The biggest difference the study found between those who are successful in interviews and those who are not, is the interviewee's communication skills and ability to exploit the face-to-face interview.
The successful candidates identified with the potential employer's greatest wants, needs and desires. They were positive and assertive in answering questions and asking questions which demonstrated that they were trying to uncover the employer's greatest needs and then show why they were qualified to meet them.
This same study showed clearly that the most successful interviewees refer to the organization by name four times as often as unsuccessful applicants. They also mention receiving information about the firm from employees and from written sources. In other words, they demonstrated a genuine interest in the company because he hears the.
Using body language to your advantage
- Related to good listening skills, use your body language to show your interviewer that you are listening by occasionally nodding your head in agreement. Leaning slightly forward in your chair is another sign of interest.
- Maintain good but not unnatural eye contact.
- Keep your eye movements relaxed and steady. If your eyes are darting everywhere, your interviewer may mistake your nervousness for shiftiness. Be especially sure to maintain good eye contact when you are answering questions. Don't look away or look down, as this could indicate you're trying to hide something or not telling the truth. If you're naturally shy, practice speaking forthrightly and confidently either with strangers or in front of a mirror.
- In general, sit up straight in your chair, but don't be too rigid. Try to convey a feeling of enthusiasm and confidence. Never slouch in your chair. This is taken as a sign of laziness, sloppiness and disinterest.
- Never yawn. If you need more air, take deep belly breaths. Taking deep breaths, using your abdomen as a bellows and inhaling and exhaling through your nose will also relax your entire nervous system. (Try it two or three times in a row and you'll see it works like a tonic.)
- Never tap your foot, twirl a pencil or show anxiety through your legs, feet and hands, the most common ways the body expresses tension.
- Never drum your fingers or crack your knuckles.
- Remember that closed postures such as crossed arms and/or crossed legs, convey dislike and distrust. Open positions and a forward lean express openness and enthusiasm.
- Use this fascinating (and very powerful) body language technique of master salespeople: Subtly mimic the body language of your interviewer. If he leans towards you, you lean toward him slightly. If he holds his hands in a certain way, you should hold them in a similar pose.
Before you dismiss this as New Age gobbledygook, try it on one of your less important interviews, or in any conversation for that matter, and be ready for a shock when you see how easily you can get people to start mimicking your body language and become more open and receptive to you.
How to handle the most sensitive interview subjects
The best way to talk about your achievements without seeming full of yourself is to talk about specific results.
The easiest way an employer can know when a job candidate is not telling the truth is when there is little or no consistency between the resume, interview and references. And let the specific numbers and achievements carry the weight of the description. (This is another instance where a thorough resume will help you immeasurably. You can use it as a basic script for reviewing the achievements that your interviewer would like you to review.)
So instead of saying, "I am the best salesman at the firm," you might say instead, "For each of the last eight years I have never placed below the top 10% in gross commission production." Then follow this up perhaps with additional sales volume figures.
Another technique: Describe what other people say. For example, "My immediate supervisor has described me as" Or, "My staff tells me I get such superb results out of them because" Or, "Last year I was named manager of the year thanks to the results I achieved by"
A similar technique: Describe evidence of top performance, including promotions, special awards, citations, performance appraisals, etc., always citing the specific results that caused you to win them. Such "third party evidence" puts the praise in the mouths of others, not in your own mouth.
Another technique: Express how proud you are of a certain achievement and express that pride in your delivery. For example, after the Gulf War, General Swarzkopf proved him a master at effectively and graciously acknowledging his own accomplishments by stating how proud he was of the brilliant performance of his troops. Of course, we automatically attributed much of the credit to him, but the fact that he did not try to claim all the credit positioned him as an even more admirable manager. Instant stardom and a multi-million-dollar book contract were just two of the rewards showered upon him not only for his brilliant performance in the war, but for his skill in telling the world what a great job he had done.
Another technique: State your abilities in terms of what you enjoy doing most. For example instead of saying,
"I am an outstanding creative thinker," it sounds a little less brag if you say, "I really love the creative aspects of this work, and I think I've shown my ability in this regard with ideas such as these" (Then describes why the ideas were so strong and what results they achieved.)
Additional phrases that can come in handy: "I really have shown outstanding ability in situations that call upon me to (fill in the blank then prove your claim with specific achievements and results)." Or, "There is nothing that gives me a greater sense of satisfaction than to (Fill in the blank then prove your claim with specific achievements and results)."
