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How to Impress In Those Critical First 60-Seconds of Your Job
Interview - Make That The First 60-Nanoseconds
by Charles Ethos
Some
ground rules for this 4-articles series: You must presume that because you were offered a job
interview, your cover letter/resume showed you have the tools for the job. To have any chance of success in your job interview, each step of
your interview must be anchored in your qualifications backup by fanatical preparation. With that being said, onward.
Summary:
The tone of your job interview is usually set during
the first 60-seconds. The aim of this article is help you achieve a mind grabbing first
impression.
Job interviewing is like a relay race and you’re the
runner. Misstep, drop the baton, and you’re disqualified! This is the first, in a series of four job interview articles, to help you target
unusual miscues that can derail even your best job interview techniques.
4 Key Steps in Honing Your Job Interview
Techniques
Step
1.
The 60-Second First
Impression.
Step
2.
Answering Interview Questions
Step
3.
Asking Interview Questions
Step
4.
Asking for The Job
Step 1: Your First 60-Second
A first
impression is that first flash of mutual recognition with that intangible, nonverbal “I like you”
- “You like me” or not. It’s familiar territory. Just think back to your first blind date. Sure your friends talked you up to prepare your way
(like a cover letter/resume) but nothing replaced that first glimpse. After that it was all uphill or downhill. A
miscued first impression meant an evening of back peddling.
Be honest,
am I right?
The Power of Body Language
Nonverbal = body language. Experts estimate that up to 93% of face-to-face communication is
nonverbal. Have you heard the classic joke: “I know you’re lying, your lips are moving”? The message of your words can be overwhelmed by the
message of your body language. So…
7 Handy Job Interview Tips to Conjure Up a
Disarming First Impression
Before
actually meeting someone, we all try to imagine what that person will be like. In the same way, your first impression must live up to your
cover letter/resume image. So what can you do? On entry…
1) Smile.
A friendly smile is disarming. It shows your
self-confidence while diverting the interviewer’s attention from looking you over more carefully as you approach.
2) Eye-to-eye contact.
This is a continuation of Tip #1. Breaking eye contact can be
taken as a sign of weakness. Let it work for you. When you break eye contact, the interviewer’s gaze tends to drop, scanning the rest of you.
Are you perfect? Once you are in handshaking range this is less possible unless you’re dealing with a brassy interviewer. Of course this
should put you on alert. But be careful. In certain cultures this can misfire.
3) Walk Tall.
Good posture exudes confidence without arrogance. This is
where your interviewer can really see your body language at work. It can be unnerving and quite difficult to walk with poise when you are
being scrutinized.
So far so good? Now to polish the rest of you…
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