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Do not act too familiar with the Interviewer.
Maintain a professional distance and don't get too personal. Avoid nosy questions and don't offer any extremely personal matters as this may compromise your application.
Hand gestures are also a form of communication. A few tips on how to avoid sending out the wrong signals.
• Never cross you arms. Crossed arms a interpreted as a symbol of being closed minded.
• Put your arms and hands on your lab or on the table. This is to emphasize that you are listening attentively.
• Avoid touching you face too much. this may sound odd, but it is natural reflex to touch your nose, cheeks and lips when you are speaking. This is your body's way of soothing yourself.
he interview is the part where you sell yourself to the company. So using your phone while doing so is not the best way to do so.
Tips:
• Turn off your phone. When your phone is off, the interviewer can 't hear it ring or vibrate. When the phone is off you will not be distracted by the vibrations. When the phone is off, your pocket won't light up because someone is calling you.
• Tell who ever you are talking to that you are now going to be interviewed and you will be turning off your phone anytime soon so that they won't be calling you or texting you all the time.
Eye Contact
The saying goes that the eyes are the windows to your soul. Same goes with the interview, maintaining eye contact in an interview conveys confidence and professionalism.
Tips:
• Establish eye contact right away. Before you begin talking, establish eye contact. Don’t look down or look at something before you begin speaking
• To maintain eye contact without being awkward and not just glaring at the interviewers eyes, look at other parts of their face (i.e nose, lips) for a split second and then go back to looking them in the eyes.
• Maintain it for 4-5 seconds. Once you establish eye contact, maintain or hold it for 4-5 seconds.Before the pandemic started - Hand shake is an important type of greetings specially in the business world or when you are applying.
Being first to reach out and your grip tells a lot. But due to virus transmission, now a days many objects in doing the handshake for safety reason. Instead, either you bow or you place your right hand on your chest as part of new greetings.
Just like tha handlshakes, both willl still shows that you have the interpersonal skills that they're looking for if you feel confident enough to initiate the new introduction action before them.
Eye contact
• While doing the new norm of bowing or hand on chest or handshakje, you still need to maintain eye contact. The idea is, you let the other person that you are sincere with your greetings.
Hand Grip
• If you are doing the handshake, grip is most important. It should be a palm to palm contact. Just make sure if you do this you already sanitized your hands by alcohol.
Hands Hold firmly
• Grasp the recruiter's hand firmly to give them the idea that you are confident and owning it.
•Avoid flimsy grips and gripping to tightly as this is they might think of it as insecurities and arrogance.
Give it a pump
• To be safe, base it on the nature of the industry. If it is a business set up, fewer pumps are made. If it is casual environment, one would suffice. Then . Release
The interviewer especially in the behavioural interview would make you feel comfortable, sometimes too comfortable that you will slip into bad manners. It's their way of testing your integrity, so it would be best to be professional all the time.
Don't bring your parents in an interview
Never bring your parents with you in an interview. You want the interviewer or the company to view you as an individual that can function on your own and being independent from your parents.
Don't bring your children in an interview
Avoid bringing your child in an interview. It will be a distraction. If don't have anyone to look after them on the day of the interview, call the company and explain the situation. Politely ask for a reschedule.
Don't come in under the influence.
If you are already scheduled for an interview on a set date, do not party the night before especially if it involves alcohol. Smelling alcohol in your breath in an interview is a "no deal" to pretty much all would- be employers.
Punctuality in an Interview whether physically or virtually
Common knowledge is to be early in an interview. But how early is early? Arriving too early in an interview would make you look desperate but you don't want to be late. A few tips on how to arrive accordingly.
If you will have your interview face to face:
• A week beforehand, commute to the location at the same time of day you are scheduled for an interview so that you can budget your travel time appropriately
• If you arrive too early, you can kill time by visiting a coffee shop nearby while preparing yourself.
• On the event that you are running behind, Apologize and show authenticity in your apology, don't dwell on it and move on with the interview.
Virtual Interview:
Due to the CoronaVirus, most hiring now are being done virtually. With this you have to prepare yourself.Proper Phone Interview Etiquette
Review these guidelines for appropriate phone interview etiquette, so you make the best impression on your interviewer.
• Answer the phone yourself. When you answer the phone, answer with your name in a friendly and warm tone of voice so that the interviewer knows they have reached the right person.
• Use the interviewer's title during the conversation. Only use first name if they ask you to.
• Listen carefully to the interviewer. Let the interviewer finish the question. If you have something you want to say, write it down on a paper and mention it if it's already your turn.
• Use a few seconds to think. Don't leave too much dead air though. If you need the interviewer to repeat the question, ask.
What to do when you're stumped in an interview.
When you don't know the answer to a question in an interview, silence can be excruciating. A few tips on how to handle the situation.
• Calm down. If you start panicking, it would show in your body language and you will start to throw out answers without thinking.
• Don't say "I don't know" right away. Don't make stuff up, your interviewer can see through it.
• Ask questions. Ask the interviewer to clarify what he/she said. Try extracting more details.
• Tell the interviewer what you do know. Tell the interviewer what you do know of the situation.
• Tell them how you find the answer. Tell the interviewer the steps you would take to figure out the problem.
What to do in a group interview.
Employers would do group interviewers because it is efficient, they allow the interviewer to screen applicants all at the same time.
Proper manners in a group interview
• Be confident and respectful. When it's your turn to answer, calmly do so. Do not cut other people off or appear too impatient and competitive.
• Be a good listener. Try to quickly learn the names of the candidates and interviewer to demonstrate how good you are as a listener. Listening to what other candidates answered can also give you ideas on how to approach your answer.
• Be yourself. Answer the questions thoughtfully, answer the questions with purpose than to talk a lot without purpose. It would also set you apart from the group without forcing you to become someone you are not.
Choose your words carefully. Remember that in an interview, you are being assessed by how you look and how you talk. If you are having difficulties describing situations or having difficulties ways to soften the blow, try euphemisms instead.
Do not present any last minute requests
If you have planned vacation leaves or anything that would require you to be physically committed in the next months, it would be best if you wait for these commitments to be over before applying for a job. Asking for last minute requests in an interview is a deal breaker.
Don't talk too much
Only talk if being asked, you can do small talk but don't take over the conversation. Talking too much might compromise your application as you may share some unfavourable information. Be brief and be direct to the point.
Credit to: Tres
