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As you approach the interview, realize that your attitudes are a critical ingredient in your success or failure. Be thoroughly prepared. Anxiety is heightened when you feel you do not know enough about the position or the organization, are unready to answer tough questions, and do not know what questions to ask.

"If you feel you are not going to do well in an interview, you won't."

Approach the employment interview for what it is, a sales process, and you are the product. Know yourself thoroughly. If you cannot sell you to you, how can you sell you to the recruiter? Be positive about yourself, current and past employers, associates, professor, and clients.

Be professional and ethical throughout the interview. Never badmouth others or reveal confidences. One study revealed that good first impressions lead interviewers to show positive regard toward applicants, give important job information, sell the organization to them, and spend less time gathering information.

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication, such as voice, eye contact, gestures, and posture, are important ingredients throughout selection interviews. Interviewers react more favourably toward applicants and rate them higher if they smile, have expressive facial expressions, maintain eye contact, and have clear, forceful voices. Although technology plays important roles in the employment process, recruiters continue to interview applicants because they prefer "high touch" to "high tech" when selecting people who will join and influence the futures of their organizations. They want to see, hear, and observe them in action.

Dynamism and energy levels are communicated through the way you shake hands, sit, walk, stand, gestures, and move your body. Use a firm but not crushing handshake. Try to appear (and be) calm and relaxed, but sharp and in control. Avoid nervous gestures, fidgets, movements, and playing with pens or objects on the interview's desk. Respond crisply and confidently.

Speak in conversational tone with vocal variety that exhibits confidence. Interviewers prefer standard accents. If English is your second language or you have an accent, work on your accent and pronunciation so interviewers understand you clearly. Realize that the interviewer may be wondering how the organization's staff, clients, customers, or others will be able to understand you if hired. Do not hesitate to pause before answering difficult and hypothetical questions, but be aware that frequent pauses may make you appear hesitant, unprepared, or "slow". Interviewers interpret pauses of one second or less as signs of ambition, self-confidence, organization, and intelligence.

Arrival and Opening

Arrive for the interview a few minutes ahead of time. If you cannot be on time for the interview, will you be on time for work? Is this a stigma of the importance you place on this interview? Do not arrive too early. The employer may have other tasks to perform or interviews to conduct and does want to assign staff to entertain you until the scheduled interview time. Be courteous to everyone you meet. Greet the employers pleasantly and dynamically. Do not use the interviewer's first name unless invited to do so. Sit when asked to do so and never sit down before the interviewer does. Be an active participant during the opening, avoiding a string of yes and no answers. You will become more relaxed once you get into the flow of the interview, so respond to opening, ice-breaker questions as you would in any normal conversation.

How you handle yourself during the first few minutes with a stranger tells the interviewer a great deal about your interpersonal communication and people skills.

Image Credits:Max Mead Cartoons, Max!wow, Lumaxart, Metropol