Ace That Job Interview: Spoken & Body Language

I spent 25 years as manager of a 30-person creative division in a large company. In that time, I interviewed at least 700 job applicants, and hired more than 40. Of course, resumés, education and experience were important, but body and spoken language were also critical factors.

Consider a typical scenario when applicants learn about a job that could be an opportunity of a lifetime. You’re determined to do everything right. Compose a fantastic application letter and killer resumé. Get it out quickly and score an interview.

When the day arrives, consider ways to make your pitch for the job the best possible. As you sit down with the interviewer, create a positive image. If applying for a job at the local garage or construction site, you may not be expected to show up looking like a Wall Street executive.

However, even for jobs that don’t require business attire, applicants won’t go wrong by dressing their best. Basic neatness in clothing, grooming and other factors always assures a positive start of the interview.

Extreme jewelry, piercing, large tattoos, wild hair color and bizarre clothing may immediately turn off the interviewer. Is this applicant looking for a job or pushing an extreme social or political statement that will disrupt our daily workplace?

When you begin the interview, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye and be prepared to answer questions with a positive attitude. Slouching, mumbling and evasiveness will guarantee you won’t get the job.

Spoken language is as critical as body language. Be sure grammar and pronunciation are correct. When the interviewer asks specific questions, answer quickly and clearly. Do research before the interview, so you can respond intelligently to specific questions about the company and products.

Don’t volunteer extra information nor offer other unnecessary talk. A businesslike attitude will be appreciated, because the busy interviewer may have other applicants waiting.

The interviewer will let you know when the session is ended. Get up promptly, offer brief words of appreciation and leave. If you’ve aced the interview, expect a call to schedule a starting date, or for another session with company executives.

If not contacted in a week, you shouldn’t accept failure yet. Follow up with a phone call or email to the interviewer. Again offer thanks for the opportunity, and ask if more information is required.

Not every interview is for the job of a lifetime, but each should be considered as if it were. Along with experience and a strong resumé, effective body and spoken language are the keys to success in acing the interview.

Positive Job Seeking Strategy In Negative Times

In the news just about every day, we see major companies cutting back drastically on their working staffs. The search for a meaningful job in a poor economy can be exhausting and depressing. However, as it applies to everything else in life, the more difficult situation calls for the most persistent motivation.

President Teddy Roosevelt wrote about facing adversity in his famous “Man in the Arena” speech. It applies to anyone who may feel disappointed in the difficult search of finding a job:

Who at the best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Every job seeker experiences frustrating periods of rejection and failure, but there are ways to fight them and go on to eventual success. How can you ace the job interview and get on that payroll?

1. Don’t allow rejection to discourage you. If you’ve done your very best to get that job, but failed, closely examine what happened. Was it negative attitude during the interview? Did you present the best of yourself? Were you dressed properly? Did you talk too much or not enough? Then, when you get home, based on what happened, make improvements. The effort will be stronger when you hit the next interview.

2. Be positive throughout interviews, but don’t be angry and discouraged when they result in rejection. Treat each interview as a training session. The old adage applies: If at first you don’t succeed …

3. Another vintage saying may work for you: Practice makes perfect. Before a job interview, do some homework about the company and the specific job you’re seeking. Then practice your pitch with a friend or family member. Rehearse for questions you may get about qualifications, the company and how you’ll fit into the prospective job. Then, at the real interview, you’ll ace it.

4. Approach each job interview with a positive attitude and enthusiasm. It’s opening night on Broadway. The spotlight will be on, and you should be well-rehearsed and determined to be the star of the show.

Rejection happens to everyone. When 100 applicants show up for a job interview, 99 will go home feeling that all-too-familiar pain in the ego. The more highly motivated will treat the rejection as a learning experience, and find ways to make that next interview a winning one.