Getting a job in today’s tough economy is hard. The current recession is characterized by unusually high levels of unemployment, which makes it harder than ever for the unemployed to get back on their feet and back into the workforce. There are too many people competing for too few positions resulting in a job search process that is often be brutal, depressing and all too often unsuccessful. It is not enough to be qualified and to have all the right references, you often need an additional edge to separate you from the pack of other job applicants. You can get this edge through effective management of your body language.
Many job applicants are sabotaging themselves because they are non-verbally communicating low confidence and low self-esteem. You need to focus on avoiding this in your next job interview.
To represent yourself successfully in a job interview you need to project an air of confidence and ability. High confidence sells while fear and doubt poisons the impression you make on others. A lack of confidence manifests itself in your body language and can ruin your chances in a job interview. Recruitment firms around the globe are reporting that candidates, frustrated by seemingly endless job interviews and fruitless job searches, are displaying negative body language patterns that cause them to fail their interviews. After a string of failed job interviews many job seekers tend to fall into a death spiral and this can be deadly for your job search.
The job interview death spiral happens after you have had several unsuccessful job interviews. The failed job interviews cause you to lose self-confidence, which is projected through your body language during your next job interview, contributing to your failure, which of course deepens your lack of confidence. This spiral can lead you into despair and cause you to eventually give up completely on finding a job.
To prevent this death spiral from happening it’s important to project confidence and avoid making a bad impression. Managing your body language and avoiding the most common body language mistakes is a very important part of an effective and successful job interview.
How important is body language? Research points out that up to 93% of the impact you have is influence by factors other than the words you use. It’s not enough to say the right things, you need to non verbally back up your words with the right image and impression.
Try these five body language tips during your next job interview: