You may be saying all the right things during your big\ninterview, but your body language might be undermining your chance at a new\njob. Check out these tips to avoid common body language pitfalls to avoid at\nyour next interview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be a slouch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting in slumped or slouched position is bad for your\nback, and it can also signal laziness or a lack of professionalism.  On\nthe opposite extreme, sitting up too tall and straight may make you seem nervous\nor aggressive. Try for the middle ground by imagining a string is pulling the\ntop of your head to the ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calm yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tapping your fingers or your feet during an interview can\nbe distracting to the interviewer and to you.  Keep your body relaxed and\nsteady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t avoid eye contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making eye contact is critical to creating a connection\nand showing that you\u2019re confident and sincere. Be sure to look the interviewer\ndirectly in the eye when shaking his or her hand and while speaking. Don\u2019t\nobsess over eye contact, though, or you\u2019ll end up staring awkwardly the whole\ntime!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep your arms open<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crossing your arms across your chest can signal that your\nhostile or closed-off.  To appear more personable during an interview, let\nyour arms rest at your side or keep them uncrossed on the desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay engaged<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course you want to \u201cpractice\u201d your interview responses\nahead of time. But don\u2019t focus on memorizing responses to the extent that\nyou\u2019re essentially repeating a script. Not only can this make you seem\ninsincere, but it prohibits you from truly engaging with the interviewer \u2013\nlistening to their questions and having a true conversation with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firm up your handshake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one likes a weak handshake \u2013 it signals a lack of\nconfidence. Aim for a firm\u2014not crushing\u2014handshake with your interviewing to\nstart things off right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may be saying all the right things during your big interview, but your body language might be undermining your chance at a new job. Check out these tips to avoid common body language pitfalls. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-impressions","category-interview-tips","category-job-seeker","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preprodspot.zing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}