Interviewers use intuitive sense to make assessments about job candidates

Six weeks ago I moved to my new home in Boulder. Unpacking boxes, navigating new streets and hiking trails, setting up the More Than A Resume´ office occupied the first few weeks. It’s time to get out and meet people for both the personal and professional me. I started to think about the message my body language, voice, communication style say to people I haven’t met before. It’s naïve to think we don’t assess people quickly by their overall demeanor. We do it all the time.  In fact, clinicians—doctors, nurses, nurse and physician practioners and the like are taught that 90 percent of medical history is communication and body language, training their intuitive sense to assess people quickly.  Human resources and hiring managers are doing just that. In interviews they are using questions and their intuitive sense to make assessments about job candidates.

Most college students and grads know to dress professionally for career fairs and job interviews.  But what does your smile say about you? Or how you shake the interviewer’s hand? Do you sit up, slouch or lean forward when answering a question? Are you using your voice to emphasize a point you want to make about the value you offer?

For example, a skilled interviewer can see in somebody’s face if they’re nice. We’re told to ‘look people in the eye’ because eyes tell a lot about a person; if they are kind, happy, sad or disinterested. When a person speaks do they speak with sincerity in their voice?  

My work with college students is conducted by phone. I learn a lot about them just by their voice.

The messages your body language tell an interviewer

Body language experts say that in job interviews candidates give out thousands of non-verbal cues within the first minute of meeting an interviewer, and those messages make more of an impact than the words used during the interview. Body language says a lot about who we are and our emotional state. Here are a few tips on how interviewers are reading your body language and what you can do about controlling those messages.

• People typically lean into a conversation when they like someone or want to make a point. If you tend to lean back in a chair the interviewer will read that you are bored or not interested in the position. Leaning too far forward can be a threatening signal. Aim for sitting up straight to let the interviewer know you are confident and lean forward when you want to emphasize a point.
• Since childhood we’ve been told pointing is rude and in interviews it can be a sign of aggressiveness. So don’t.  Use hand gestures—deliberately and sparingly instead.
• Crossing your arms can make you look defensive or uncomfortable.  Instead, gesture with your hands. That way you’ll appear more enthusiastic and engaging. Hand gestures are also good to emphasize a point but overdoing it can distract or make the interviewer dizzy.
• Something many people do but generally aren’t away of are things like playing with your hair or fingernails, constantly turning a ring or touching a necklace. These are small gestures that can be very annoying in an interview distracting the interviewer from the conversation.
• From eye rolls to staring to darting, the secret of successful interview communication is all in the eyes. Don’t stare. It’s too aggressive. You want to appear confident it’s good to hold eye contact but only until you see the interviewer has acknowledged you as with a hand shake or the point you were making. Avoiding eye contact has it’s pitfalls as well by giving the interviewer a reason not to trust or like you.
• Smiling is important. And it’s fine to have an expressive face but use expressions sparingly. Too many faces can distract from the conversation.
• Before you shake hands, rise, walk up to the interviewer with confidence, make eye contact and smile. Make sure your handshake is firm but not crushing. 

Controlling your voice 
Your voice is also signaling the interview about who you are. Consider the following as you practice interviewing.

• There’s not much you can do if you naturally have a high or low voice. However, pay attention to the pitch of your voice when you are excited or engaged in a conversation.   If your tendency is to go to a higher pitch, practice control.
• You need to show some personality in your voice. Who wants to work with the monotone professor who put you to sleep? Practice inwardly smiling when you are talking as a way to add life to your voice.  In telephone interviews, just smile when you talk.
• How fast or slow you speak and when to speed up or slow down your speech matters. You want to keep a good steady pace to make a good impression. To emphasize a point you can speed up your speech making the interviewer listen slightly harder to keep up with you or you can slow down your speech letting what you say sink it.
• I like using pauses to make a point or to not seem overly rehearsed in your responses. Too many long or frequent pauses send the message you are not prepared at all.
• There was a funny Seinfeld episode about a low talker and the assumptions Jerry and friends made about what was being said. Low talking signals a lack of confidence in what you are saying about skills. Talking loudly on the other hand can say to the interviewer that you aren’t very stable.
• Another way to instill doubt in your interviewer is to use improper inflection. If your voice goes up at the end of every sentence, as though you were asking a question, you give the impression you’re unsure of what you’re saying.

Listen 

Body language or voice the best thing you can do for yourself in an interview is listening. Interviews should be a conversation. Listen to the questions you’re being asked. Pause and think before you answer. Most importantly, look at the messages the interview is giving you and listen to what you’re not being asked. Not all the people you will interview with are good at it.