How to sit during an interview

As most interviews are held with both parties seated it’s important to convey a positive message in the way you sit – especially the positioning of your arms and legs.

The less a person moves their hands and arms, the more powerful they are perceived to be. They’re used to people listening to them so don’t have to resort to gesticulation to convey their point.

The technical term for this is low peripheral movement, or LPM. When being interviewed maintain LPM and you’ll make a more impressive impact on your interviewer. Try to keep your hands lower than your elbows, rest them on the arms of the chair or your thighs or make a low steeple with the fingers of both hands.

The everyday seating position, with legs crossed high up, is not suitable for an interview setting as it conveys a defensive attitude. The position you adopt for your legs needs to convey confidence. Two key positions communicate this - the low cross and the athletic position.

The athletic position is where one leg is brought under your chair so that only the toe of that shoe is in contact with the floor. The other leg is firmly planted on the floor, parallel with the direction of the chair, with the entire sole of that shoe on the floor. This is a powerful position, showing you’re ready for action.

Using eye contact

The face pictured has a shaded area to indicate the correct target zone for positive eye contact.

                                

Think where else you might be tempted to look at on someone’s face during a conversation; which area of the face do you think would cause the most discomfort to the person being looked at?

Looking at someone’s face anywhere outside the triangular target zone is likely to cause some degree of discomfort.

Zone A represents the intimate zone - by moving just a fraction below the base of the target triangle you’ll enter it. When this happens people typically react by feeling the other person is staring at them, or that the observer appears devious.

Zone B represents a dominant zone - by looking at another person’s forehead you’re likely to give the impression you’re arrogant or staring straight through them or, more likely, that you’re talking down to them.

As well as understanding how to make positive eye contact it’s also important to ensure you maintain it even if the interview doesn’t appear to be going as well as you’d hoped. In that way you may be able to rescue the situation.

Optimising eye contact

Understanding where and how to make positive eye contact is important but you also need to know how and when to use it. The amount of eye contact you make depends on whether you’re the speaker or the listener.

As the listener you should instigate more eye contact and hold it for longer periods. This reinforces your role as an attentive listener.

As the speaker, overusing eye contact can appear as if you’re demanding the interviewer’s attention. To avoid this impression, hold eye contact initially for five to 10 seconds, after that use it only intermittently. This way you won’t appear intimidating and the listener won’t feel they’re being challenged to a staring match. It’s normal for the listener to maintain eye contact for longer than the speaker who will typically break off and then resume the contact while they’re speaking.

Eye contact when used positively can be a very effective form of non-verbal communication. However, excessive or inappropriate eye contact will prevent your establishing a good relationship with your interviewer.

Timing your arrival

You must arrive in time for your interview. Arriving late means you’re starting at a disadvantage and it may even mean you won’t be considered.

You should calculate your journey time and allow a margin for delays and any other eventualities. Check all the available travel information before leaving and amend your journey plans if necessary. Always carry a mobile phone so you can summon taxis or other assistance.

Plan to arrive early for your interview - ideally about 20 minutes in advance. Where you should then wait depends on how early you are. Anything over 20 minutes early and it’s advisable to wait somewhere nearby such as a coffee shop. This has the advantage of helping you relax and avoids giving the impression you’re a desperate candidate.

You are on show from the moment you arrive at the place where the interview’s to be held, so act accordingly. Is there any relevant information that you could glance through, such as a notice board or company newsletter? Appear to be busy, as nobody will pay you to sit around dreaming. Remember, it’s not only the interviewer assessing you but any number of employees may be subsequently asked their opinion of the candidates.

To avoid walking into the interview laden down with clutter, ask the receptionist to look after your belongings. Ideally try to arrive at the interview with just a single briefcase, document wallet or handbag.

Also, by arriving early you might benefit from a slightly longer interview if the previous candidate should fail to turn up.

Next: Creating a positive first impression
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