1. Imagination: An imaginative, courteous person is the one people like to get to know. Avoid the crowd of resume presenters and job hunters - your chances are better at the gambling tables. Approach the person.
2. Dress and Grooming: For interviews, wear a 5M/7 (men and women) which is in style but conservative in cut and color. (Women have more latitude than men in this regard.) Shoes must be of good quality and well cared for. Add elements of flair with color of shirt or blouse, tie, etc. Hair should be styled to suit the times and your age group. Avoid extremes; avoid drabness.
It is important to realize that the interview situation requires appropriate dress because of two very important benefits: It is a mark of respect toward the employer, and "dressing up" for an occasion helps us to be at our best. It has been frequently observed that, everything else being more or less equal, when two people approach an employer, one wearing a suit and the other nicely but casually dressed, secretaries and then employers will usually defer to the one wearing a suit. It is a good idea for anyone to take advantage of the conditioning in the workplace: Various shades of blue and gray, for men particularly, are evidence of money, wealth, power, and competence.
3. Correct Posture and General Conduct: A relaxed (and occasionally smiling) face, appropriate eye contact, and display of enthusiasm are vital. Enlist the aid of a friend or family member and/or mirror for self-critique and improvement.
When any of us enter an employer's office for an interview, we face three important obstacles: Our own nervousness, the furniture, and distance.
Nervousness causes most of us to put a great deal of energy into appearing not nervous. This means leaning back in the chair and crossing our legs. We succeed only in appearing disinterested. Office furniture is so constructed that when we lean back in the side chair, and the employer sits normally in his or her executive chair, the employer sits at a slightly higher elevation. This allows the employer to exercise a greater measure of control. The distance from interviewee to employer, if both sit back in their respective chairs, is between six and eight feet, and the two personal territories do not meet. This also gives greater control to the employer, whose office it is. In our culture, an acceptable distance for comfortable discussion between two people meeting alone is four to six feet.
These three obstacles (nervousness, elevation and distance) can be tempered by a simple maneuver: After shaking hands and before being seated, move the chair you are about to sit in forward so that it is close enough, if you want, to comfortably lean one forearm on the edge of the desk, and then assume a posture of leaning forward. In leaning forward, you use your nervous energy in a positive way, you appear interested, you will talk more directly and therefore more effectively to the employer, you will elevate your head approximately six inches (which sends an important subtle message of equality), and you will reduce the distance between you to approximately four to six feet. This approach should be rehearsed so that it becomes natural and comfortable.
It will help you to notice that the most engaging people we deal with are those who talk and listen to us with their entire bodies. And they maintain a comfortable kind of eye contact with us. It is important to realize that many people find direct eye contact embarrassing, to the extent that constant eye contact can become something of a battle and therefore, distracting. And yet if we avoid eye contact, we may be judged as less than direct and honest. A compromise usually works for most people: Keep moving your eyes within the triangle of cheekbone to cheekbone to middle of forehead, with an occasional glance directly into another person's eyes. This is well worth rehearsing until it becomes natural and comfortable. It is important to avoid looking off to the other person's side or at any other part of the person's anatomy - any of these can cause discomfort in another person, or be misinterpreted.
