Career Advice
5 Tips To Help You Make A Good Impression at Interview
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 1 May 2018
Everyone says that you must make a good impression, some in the know say that you’ve only got seven seconds to make it but how do you make a good one?
First let’s look at what making a good impression means?
We need to go right back to caveman times when men and women had to quickly decide within seconds if the person who visited their village was friend or foe? Did the visitor look friendly or did the visitor want to take their territory? They had seconds to decide. That human instinct is how we form first impressions today, when someone walks into the office we usually decide within seconds whether that person is going to be alright or not. When you enter an office for an interview you have just a few seconds to convince the interviewer that you can be trusted, you’re a friend, and you’re a good person. Once the first impression is formed, you can then wow them with your knowledge and your skills but those first few seconds are crucial.
Here are a few tips that will help you make a good first impression.
Smile
Not a big Cheshire Cat smile that looks false but a genuine, pleased to meet you smile.
A real smile includes the eyes, they light up, and little creases form at the sides where the muscles flex. Smiling is powerful, and it’s contagious; when someone smiles back it reduces their stress and stimulates the happy part of the brain more than chocolate does!
It takes a heartless, cold person not to reciprocate your smile, see that as a warning, would you want to work for that person?
Handshake
Follow your smile with a confident handshake. Etiquette states that the interviewer should be the first one to do the handshake, but it should flow, even if that means you find yourself taking the lead. As you enter the interview, smile and simultaneously put your hand out to shake theirs; in a nanosecond, the interviewer should beat you to the handshake. Try and match their grip, don’t grip stronger than them but have a good grip, so it doesn’t feel weak and floppy.
Eye Contact
Maintain eye contact, remember the interviewer has to see the smile coming from your eyes. Don’t instantly drop your gaze to the floor after the formalities as that will indicate a lack of interest. Maintaining eye contact demonstrates good body language, it silently says that you’re sociable, confident, you pay attention, and you’re trustworthy. If you start to look elsewhere while in conversation it gives off the impression that you’re bored, insecure, you might have something to hide, or you're a dubious character.
Speak Clearly
No-one likes a mumbler, it’s embarrassing for the interviewer to have to keep saying pardon or can you repeat that. Practise speaking clearly, have a friend assess your speaking, you might find that you need to slow your pace down too. While you’re being assessed see how many times you use fillers, that means words you use because you can’t think of what to say next. Usually, fillers are: errr’s, umm’s, anyway, basically, you know, and a few others. Sometimes it’s good to be quiet for a second instead of padding out another sentence with a filler.
Listen
Everyone loves a good listener. The ability to listen is an impressive quality; it’s not waiting for the other person to finish so you can say your piece, active listening is about digesting everything that’s been said and have an understanding of the subject in hand. Listening actively and with empathy will give the impression that you’re a good communicator.
These 5 tips are easy to follow, but you’d be amazed by how many people don’t.
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