The Pongo Blog
4 Body Blunders to Avoid in Your Job Interviews
October 27, 2010 (2:00PM) by Brianna Raymond, CPRW
Despite what you may have assumed about the term body blunders, I'm not talking about passing gas. I'm talking about your body language and the signals your expressions, posture, and movements send when you're meeting with someone. Here's a short list of the biggest blunders that can ruin your interviews, no matter how skilled or qualified you are.
- Dodgy eye contact. Remember when you were a child and your mother accused you of stealing a candy bar from the grocery store? You knew you did it, but you didn't want to admit it, so you looked at the floor, the ceiling, her shoes – anywhere but her eyes. Similarly, if you don't make eye contact in the interview, your words will lack credibility and you'll be less likely to get your point across strongly.
- Nervous twitching. Rubbing your nose. Scratching your arm. Bouncing your leg. Tapping your foot. Adjusting your seat. Doing one of these things in limited quantity shouldn't make an impact on the interviewer's opinion of you. But doing all of them (or a few of them repeatedly) during the entire interview will make the interviewers talk about you – and not in a good way.
- Too many um's, ah's, and like's. Shooting glances around the room and inserting seven "um's" into a 10-word sentence, or saying "like" after every other word will show that you A) are a poor communicator, and B) don't believe in what you're saying. Maybe neither of these is true, but your nerves will indicate otherwise.
- Blabbering. If you don't pay attention to exactly what the interviewer is asking, you're more inclined to ramble through your answer. I recently overheard two managers whose main complaint about a job candidate they'd just interviewed was that he went on for what seemed like an eternity, responding to a question that should have taken only a couple of sentences to answer. Word of advice: Don't do that.
So how do you avoid these blunders? Simple: Do the opposite of each. Maintain eye contact, sit still, speak well, and be precise.
Are there any other actions you can think of that would send the wrong signal? Let me know what I missed in the comments below.
RELATED LINKS
Dumbass Mistakes New Grads Make in Interviews
Job Interview Don'ts Straight from a Hiring Manager
Top 5 Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
I've been assisting someone re-enter the workforce after three years. She met with a career counselor, polished her resume, researched, and set a schedule to apply on-line each day for several months without any luck.
I agree with everything written above regarding important points to consider and when she was ready, I recommended a new strategy by applying in person. Some companies asked her to go back and apply on-line however by applying in person, the phone started ringing off the hook for interviews.
She is up to five offers to choose from! I suppose it depends on your qualifications, ambition, and the type of job you are looking for but if it works, why not try?
Posted by: Laura P | October 30, 2010 at 7:40 AM | Quote This Comment
Hi Laura P- Thanks for commenting. There is a great discussion going on about the strategy you mentioned above, walking right into a company and applying in person.
http://www.pongoresume.com/blogPosts/619/delivering-your-resume-in-person-good-idea-or-bad-.cfm
Best of luck to the person you are assisting!
--Amy
Posted by: Amy Garden | November 02, 2010 at 10:36 AM | Quote This Comment
I AGREED TOTALLY WITH YOUR ABOVE INFORMATION CONCERNING BODY BLUNDERS ALWAYS COMMITTED UNKNOWINGLY DURING THE INTERVIEW. I WAS INVOLVED PREVIOUSLY . THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD JOB YOU ARE DOING BY EDUCATING PEOPLE ON HOW TO SUCCEED IN AN INTERVIEW. I HAVE PASSED THIS ORIENTATION TO OTHERS AND IT HAS HELPED THEM TO PASS THE INTERVIEW BY AVOIDING THOSE MISTAKES THAT WAS NOT KNOWN TO THEM BEFORE. THANK YOU
Posted by: STEPHEN IBITAYO ABOLARIN | November 06, 2010 at 6:21 AM | Quote This Comment
how the dress code & hair style,body language should be there at time of interview
Posted by: surendar | March 09, 2011 at 11:33 PM | Quote This Comment
I have a terrible problems with "ahs" and "ums." Recently while phone banking for a political candate, I suddenly discovered a solution. Whenever I feel an um, coming on, I took a breath.
I don't know if it will work for you, but it sure worked for me.
um, Debby
Posted by: Debby Norman | March 10, 2011 at 5:14 PM | Quote This Comment