While it’s important to not over-engineer every aspect of a job interview, you want to be very well prepared to make the best impression. Here are a few subtler things to consider that could yield that elusive edge.
Choose a Time When Your Interviewer Will be Most Comfortable
That means not 8:45 AM on a Monday. Choose 10:30 AM on, say a Tuesday or Thursday. There’s a good chance your interviewer will be more relaxed and happy to see you.
Interview on a Day When You’re the Only Interviewee
If you know the interviewer’s schedule, avoid interviewing on days when others are coming in. You don’t want to be lost in the shuffle.
Choose your Color Wisely
Colors have a way of, well, coloring the way people see you. Choose the right one for you.
Gray: logical/analytical
White: organized
Brown: dependable
Red: power
Green, Yellow, Orange, or Purple: creative
(Be careful with the purple)
Hold your Palms Open or Steeple your Hands
Showing your palms generally indicates sincerity, while pressing the fingertips of your hands together to form a church steeple indicates confidence.
On the other hand, you don’t want to hold your palms downward, which is a sign of dominance. You’ll also want to avoid concealing your hands, which looks like you have something to hide; tapping your fingers, which shows impatience; folding your arms, which indicates disappointment; and overusing hand gestures, which can be distracting.
Mirror the Body Language of Your Interviewer
The “chameleon effect” is a psychological phenomenon that describes how people tend to like each other more when they’re exhibiting similar body language.
Make Eye Contact When You First Meet
Sort of like how you don’t pet a dog before you allow them to sniff your hand. You want to start the interview by building trust and you do that by letting your interviewer see you as you are.
Being clever can backfire if it leads to insincerity. There’s a fine line, but you should have a sense of how far you can take these psychological tricks to help you score higher. Every little bit counts, but the most important thing is that you seem confident and ready to spread your success into their organization.
About NextGen
NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.
