The most important communication during a job interview is often the unspoken kind. Body language, or nonverbal communication, can let interviewers know more about you than what you tell them.

Hand Shake
The initial nonverbal impression of the candidate comes through the handshake. Don't be timid, slide you palm all the way in and deliver a firm, confident handshake.

Seating Options
If there are several seating options to choose from, ask your interviewer for instructions. Do not just assume and take a seat.

How to Sit
Slide to the back of the chair and sit tall and straight. Sitting on the edge of the seat can make you look eager, but also scared and nervous. Women should not cross their legs and instead seat with their legs together. Men should avoid sitting with their legs too wide apart or crossed with the ankle on top of the knee. Always maintain a comfortable space, about 3 feet from the interviewer. Shortening that space can feel invasive and inappropriately intimate.

The Hands
You can sit with your hands clasped together or hold on to a small briefcase organizer through the interview. Avoid steeping your fingers, particularly in the upright position, when answering a question. This can be perceived as arrogant. Hand habits, like nail biting, hair twirling, touching your face and hand twitching, can distract the interviewer and convey nervousness and insecurity.

Eye Contact
Eye contact conveys confidence and respect, but staring at the interviewer is not appropriate. Avoiding eye contact, especially while answering a question, can convey dishonesty.

Practice
The best way to get rid of bad nonverbal habits is to become aware of them. Practice the interview with a friend or family member. Using a video camera to tape a mock interview can be even more helpful. Get your mock interview partner to ask you tough questions that would make you nervous and susceptible to bad body language. Notice what you do under pressure and be conscious of it.

Evaluating the Interviewer's Body Language
Don't just listen to what your interview is saying, watch his/her body language. It can reveal how the interview is going. If the interviewer touches his/her nose, he/she is disapproving somewhat of what you are saying. If he/she looks at the watch or shuffles papers, you are not on the right track. If the interviewer leans towards you, he/she is interested in what you are saying and is listening to you. If he/she is leaning back on the chair, she is evaluating you with a critical eye. If she/he suddenly moves from relaxing in the chair to sitting upright, you have said something that needs to be evaluated from a different perspective. You can tell if a difficult question is coming if the interviewer places his/her fingertips together in an upright steeple-like position. If the interviewer stands up, the interview is over.

• Perfect Interview (See above for information)
• STAR Method for Answering Interview Questions
  The STAR Method simply provides a logical approach to answering any question by providing a guided approach to using one of your past successes in responding to the question.
• Extensive List of Behavioral Interview & Competency Based Interview Questions
• Reading Your Body Language and the Interviewer's
• Interview Boot Camp Presentation (PowerPoint Show)
• How to Handle Illegal Interview Questions
• Research Companies Using Mullins Library Resources

Dressing for Interview Success

While the college campus may be the perfect forum in which to exhibit your flair for the latest in fashion style, the interview is not the place to do so. With very few unusual exceptions sandals and sweatshirts are out. Oxfords and business suits are still in. I don’t like a necktie any better than the next person, but it is still a fact of life in interviewing. Even though many companies have relaxed the internal company dress code, interviews still follow the conservative standard.

Campus fashions and work fashions are two different worlds.

Unfortunately, most college grads are woefully underprepared with proper interview dress. They feel they can “get by” with what is already in their wardrobe. Usually not. Dress for the world outside college is quite different from the campus scene. Remember that stylish is typically not conservative. Conservative is “in” for interviewing. Why? Because you should be doing the talking, not your clothes.

This is not to say that you need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Go for quality over quantity. One or two well-chosen business suits will serve you all the way to the first day on the job and beyond. Then, when you are making some money (and have a chance to see what the standard “uniform” is for the company), you can begin to round out your wardrobe. For now, no one will fault you for wearing the same sharp outfit each time you interview. If you desire some variety within a limited budget, you might consider varying your shirt/blouse/tie/accessories as a simple way to change your look without breaking your wallet.

For those of you who need a quick review of the basics, follow these guidelines for successful interview dress:

Men and Women

Men

• Necktie should be a conservative pattern
• Dark shoes (black lace-ups are best)
• Dark socks (no wild colors)
• Get a haircut; short hair always fares best in interviews
• Fresh shave; make sure facial it is neat and trimmed
• No earrings (if you normally wear one, take it out)

Women

• Wear a suit with a jacket and skirt (knee length or longer) or slacks; no dresses
• Shoes with conservative heels
• Conservative hosiery at or near skin color (and no runs!)
• Small purse, briefcase or portfolio
• If you wear nail polish, use clear or a conservative color
• Keep your makeup simple and natural (it should not be too noticeable)
• No more than one ring on each hand
• One set of discreet earrings only

All clothes should be expertly pressed and clean for your interview day.

If you are still not sure how to dress for the interview, call and ask! That’s right—call the employer. But this is one time when you do not want to call the Hiring Manager—instead, ask to be put through to Human Resources and say:

“I have an interview with _____ in the _____ department for a position as an _____. Could you please tell me what would be appropriate dress for this interview?”

While many work environments have shifted to business casual as the workday standard, business suits are still the interview standard. When in doubt, it is almost always better to err on the side of conservatism.

Source: Collegegrad.com

Based on Purpose

This type of interview is used to quickly and efficiently eliminate unqualified or overpriced candidates.  These interviews are conducted by professional interviewers, recruiters, or human resources representatives seeking information regarding your educational background and experience using a highly structured question-and-answer format.

This interview is used after some type of screening process. These interviews are usually conducted by a professional practitioner who will be the candidate’s supervisor.  There may be additional sessions with other members of the work team, including support staff.  They are generally less formal and less structured than the screening interview.  Questions tend to be open-ended, with subsequent questions based on the candidate’s responses to previous questions.

One-on-One Interview

This is the usual interview procedure.  Screening and selection interviews usually include one interviewer and one candidate.  At times, a second company representative may join in, or the candidate may have a series of interviews that involves several individual meeting with different people at the organization.

This format consists of many interviewers and one candidate.  Search committees are used by business and industry for selection of high-level corporate officers.  Nonprofit organizations may use their boards of directors to interview candidates for positions.  Search committee interviews are also common for positions in the field of education, including public schools and higher education institutions.

The reverse of the search committee interview, the group interview consists of many candidates and one or more interviewers.  Group interviews are sometimes used as a screening procedure by smaller companies.  Several candidates may be invited at once to hear a presentation about the organization.  The technique is sometimes applied to assess leadership skills and ability to work in groups.  Afterwards, candidates may have an opportunity to speak briefly to someone individually.

Question-and-Answer or Directed Interview

This style is highly structured; the interviewer comes prepared with a list of questions.  This technique is frequently used by recruiters and professional interviewers to seek facts about your background.  The same set of questions is asked of each candidate, and responses are later compared and evaluated.  This is the general format for screening interviews.

Building rapport and connecting with the interviewer can be difficult in question-and-answer interviews.  Feeling that you may be “striking out,” you could become discouraged and lose enthusiasm.  Keep in mind that the interviewer is bound by the structure.  You may, in fact, be making a positive impression without getting feedback.  Continue to promote your experience, skills, and interest to the very end.  It could pay off with an invitation to a far warmer second interview.

Open-Ended or Nondirective Interview

This style, generally informal and less structured, is used by professional practitioners to assess candidates’ skills, experience, and personality attributes.  It is the usual format for selection interviews, which are frequently second-round interviews.  The questions in this interview are open-ended, requiring paragraph-long responses from you.  Your responses may then prompt a series of follow-up questions to clarify or expand on your answers.

Behavioral Interview

Employers selecting applicants are always looking for better ways to predict the future success of candidates.  Recently, behavioral interviewing has become a popular technique used by human resources professional and hiring managers.  Behavioral interviewing is based on the premise that past behavior is an accurate indicator of future behavior.  An interviewer identifies particular skills needed to succeed in the job to be filled and then asks applicants to demonstrate their abilities in those areas.  Applicants are expected to give concrete examples of their past performance.

Examples of behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership.
• Tell me about a difficult problem you solved.
• Give me an example of a time when you calmed an irate customer.
• Would you describe yourself as a self-starter?

Sometimes the questions sound a lot like the open-ended questions discussed earlier.  However, the employer is looking for specific content in your responses.  To respond effectively to behavioral interview questions, it is necessary to tell a story.  There is a formula you can us that will ensure that your response is complete:

THE STAR FORMULA

• Identify the situation you were in.
• Explain what the task was that needed to be done.
• Describe the specific action you took.
• Detail the result of your action.

Below is an example of a behavioral question and response.  The elements of the STAR formula are indicated in parentheses so you can see how they provide the structure for the candidate’s response.

Employer: Tell me about a time when you demonstrated leadership.

Candidate: I’d be happy to. (Situation) Last year while I was working for the multimedia department of a large ad agency, we were developing the homepage for one of the company’s biggest clients.  The site was to be interactive and animated so it was pretty cutting-edge.  I headed the design team and was coordinating efforts with the programmers, who were supposed to actually write the code that would make our design work.  The problem was, they couldn’t do it.  They tried, but they didn’t have the specialized technical knowledge for the project, and there wasn’t enough time for them to learn.  (Task)We were coming close to our design review deadline, and we needed to have a prototype to show the customer.  (Action) I made the suggestion that we go outside the company and hire someone with the specific technical know-how to bring our design up.  When I got the approval, I went looking for the person myself and brought her onboard for the project; (Result) we delivered the prototype on time for the design review meeting with the customer.  There were some all-nighters involved, but we met the deadline.  The customer was pleased, and our VP was elated.

This exchange contains all the elements of the STAR formula, it tells an engaging story, and it gives the employer a vivid snapshot of the applicant’s capability.  Practice using the formula to answer several behavioral interview questions.  You won’t necessarily be able to predict the questions you’ll be asked, but if the formula has become second nature to you, you’ll probably tell great stories when the questions are asked.

Stress Interview

This interview is purposefully staged to determine how a candidate will perform under stress.  It may be typified by long periods of silence, challenges to a candidate’s opinions or qualifications, or a series of interruptions.  While these are extremely uncomfortable interviews, it can be calming to remember at that moment that a technique is being used.  The interviewer does not disapprove of you but wants to see how you handle pressure or rejection.  In management, sales, and customer service positions, these attributes are essential.  Maintain your cool, deal with the negative behavior, and continue answering questions calmly.

If you are repeatedly interrupted and asked new questions, you could say that you would be happy to answer the new question when you finish the previous response.  Or ask the interviewer which question to answer, thus calling attention to the interruptions: “Let me clarify – which question would you like me to answer?” If the interviewer minimizes your credentials, restate your qualifications for the position.  Remember, they selected you for an interview so they are interested.

Technical Interview or Demonstration

This style is used to test your specific knowledge or ability for the position.  If you are interviewing for a programming position, you may be given a printout and asked to debug the lines of code.  A technician may be asked to repair or diagnose an equipment problem.  A sales candidate may be handed an object and asked to sell it to the interviewer.  If the position you are applying for involves speaking before groups, you may be asked to prepare and deliver a brief presentation.  These opportunities to demonstrate your abilities usually come in the second or third round of interviewing.  You may be in advance that final candidates will be asked back to deliver a brief presentation.  Consider all of these as opportunities to compete on the basis of your abilities.  If given a chance to prepare in advance, don’t decide to “wing it.”  Your competitors will eat your lunch.

Source: Hayes, K.H. (1999). Managing career transitions: Your career as a work in progress (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.