Head, Shoulders, Knees and Ties...at an interview

By Coffee Zhang, Campus Representative, University of Wisconsin

People usually say the first impression is crucial as it affects how the interviewers think about your and category you. The first impression usually lasts long. People seem to care much about how they are going to answer the questions but indifference about other details. A small and unpleasant movement could potentially cause a big trouble. In contrast, small pleasant movement may help you get a job. Some people have no problem at all in terms of the body language during the interview; some may feel so good themselves but neglect to notice their bad behaviors; still, others may be too nervous that they don’t know where they should put their hands. Thus, it is significant to practice in daily basis to make sure such mistakes will not be made because there is no time to check for body language during the real interview or even unaware of your gestures. The Doostang Team gave the interviewees some suggestions regarding the appropriate body language.

Here is the list of things that you should and should NOT do:

Your Hands:

Don’ts:	Dos:
Hands underneath the table	Use small hand gesture to compliment the answers you give
Folding handing nicely shows your passiveness	Smooth flow of gestures with your body
Gesture wildly is too distracting

Your Face:

Don’ts:	Dos:
Lock in on your interviewer as too earnest or even intimidating	Maintain a good eye contact for the majority of the conversation
Focus on the interviewer’s lips as can seem sexual
Touch your face as in strange or lying

Your Body

Don’ts:	Dos:
Slouch as it looks unprofessional and conveys that you are not interested	Sit up straight in the chair but also want to appear natural and not nervous or uptight
Sitting up too straight	Lean forward a little bit in your chair without slouching as involvement