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Job interview Tips, Body language and Interviewing

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in preparing for a job interview is not having someone objectively assess you body language and vocal behavior. We are often unaware how the our most mundane behaviors affect the way others view us. We can go into a job interview oblivious to our blind spots. No one will tell you unless you ask.

There is a makeover TV show called What Not to Wear. On the show, friends and family members appalled at how someone they know dresses, request the person get a makeover. I find the show entertaining on many levels. Why is the bad dresser always so surprised he or she was chosen for the show?
• The friends and family never told them
• Or, they didn’t believe what they were told
• Or, they do not know what good dressing look likes.
Think about it. Most of the people at work are strangely uncomfortable telling you what’s wrong with you or have trouble telling why they think certain things about you. As you prepare for a job interview you need to know. On the TV show, the fashion consultants put the guest in a four-way mirror booth so they can see themselves from all sides. That alone is painful for the guest. Then they come in and start coaching. They are brutally honest. They say things like, “You look horrible in that.” “That color is awful with your hair color.” “These shoes went out in the 80’s when they were never in.” Then they give coaching on good dressing and even have mannequins dressed appropriately. Finally, they have the person go and shop for the clothes and wear them. The guest is always surprised to find they didn't look as good as they thought and happy to learn how they can make changes to look and feel fantastic.
You may not be a bad dresser or have poor body language, but you might want to improve some aspect of your behavior for a job interview. There may be things you don’t know about yourself. If you want to improve you need to get into a four-way mirror on your behavior, be brutally honest with yourself, find models of the best nonverbal behaviors and see in ways in which you may wish to grow. Then get someone objectives opinion. You may think you know how you come across to others, but you may not really be aware of little body language quirks and vocal habits that could turn an interview off. You may think your best attribute is confidence but you need to get a objective viewpoint to make sure you don't actually appear conceited to interviewer They may think they sound smart when their answers sound condescending and they jut their chin out defiantly. A person can think they are warm and friendly and they but someone meeting them in an interview for the first time may wonder why they don't take a breath and let them talk.
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional Panel guest on Fox Five News Job Search.
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Tips to Reduce Stress and Build Confidence for a Job Interview

Tip for building confidence and reducing anxiety for a job interview.
When you get upset or nervous or just plain stressed out during your job search notice your breathing. Right now look at your watch, you cell phone or clock and begin to count the number of times you breath in and out in a minute.You may notice that even at rest your nervous breathing is faster than the "average" rate of 12 to 14 times a minute (a rate which is already faster than it needs to be). In fact, many of us, without knowing it, habitually "hyperventilate"--that is, we take quick, shallow breaths from the top of our chest. This kind of breathing sharply reduces the level of carbon dioxide in our blood. This reduced level of carbon dioxide causes the arteries, including the carotid artery going to the brain, to constrict, thus reducing the flow of blood throughout the body. When this occurs, no matter how much oxygen you may breathe into your lungs, your brain and body will experience a shortage of oxygen. The lack of oxygen switches on the sympathetic nervous system--our "freeze, fight or flight reflex"—The that reflex enabled our ancestors to freeze so we wouldn't be seen or flee from a saber tooth tiger but now it is just making you tense, anxious, and irritable. When you take quick shallow breaths you reduce our ability to think clearly. During a job interview it may keep you from answering questions quickly and succinctly, and you can beat the mercy of obsessive thoughts and images. You may start thinking, Oh my gosh I am going to mess up." "Oh my gosh I am a failure." "I bet he thinks I am stupid." We may even stop breathing as we get to end of each obsessive thought. Some researchers believe that hyperventilation can actually magnify our psychological problems and conflicts, and that chronic hyperventilation is intimately bound up with our anxieties, apprehensions, and fears. One key to feeling clear headed, energized and confident,is to breath deeply, from low down in your belly. You can practice breathing more slowly using your diaphragm, belly, rib cage, and lower back in the breathing process. I have been reading and practicing tantric breathing to be more awake to how I breath and really get inside my body and increase my power. It is amazing how strong and powerful I feel when I take deep belly breaths making a lot of noise as the air fills me up and and let out that breath fully and completely in deep releasing sighs. Of course your not going to be doing tantric breathing during your interview, but it could help calm you and clear your energy the night before or in the car before you go into your interview. Try it right now. Take four deep belly breaths in on a count of four holding for a count of two and making lots noise as you sigh deeply out all your breath. Now say. I feel wonderful. How does your voice sound? More powerful? More Alive? (link to voice articles) See The Tao of Natural Breathing for more information.
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Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Fox Channel Five Job Search and Job Interviewing Webcast.

For great information on finding a job, writing an ageless resume, using social networking and body language for job interviews check out Atlanta Fox News website for a webcast panel discussion. As a body language expert on the panel today, I shared how important it is to visualize your success before the interview. Job seekers sometimes get so anxious before an interview that they imagine all the mistakes they will make. Instead prepare by first practicing live then visualizing your success. Practice how you will shake hands well and sit with confidence, be warm and friendly, listen well and answer all the questions your asked with confidence and play the movie of you giving a successful interview in your head over and over so that when you are under stress you can easily go to the positive successful responses you have rehearsed and played over and over in your mind. You body will go to what you have rehearsed the most. Rehearse and nail the interview response. For more tips go to the search portion of Patti's blog and type in job interview body language.

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Job Interviewing Tips on Eye Contact by Patti Wood MA, CSP

Gaze sends a message of power. It also gives you control of the conversation even as the listener. To build rapport you need to gaze, looking and then looking away about 60 to 70 percent of the time. If you are not sure if you look enough ask yourself if your getting the attention and results from people that you want. Eye Contact sends the message that you are serious. If your still not sure ask the people you interact with wither you give enough eye contact.
You need to make good eye-contact with others. A lack of eye-contact can make you look dishonest, disrespectful, evasive, rude, incompetent, lacking in confidence or lacking in conviction. In North American Culture we expect people to look at us when we are talking to them.
If people find you overbearing I can bet your eye contact is part of the problem. If you look too long and don’t break away enough it’s intimidating. You want to gaze not stare. Gazing is very different than staring if you gaze more than that 70 percent of the time people are going to think you’re a bully, you’re weird or that they have spinach between their teeth.
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel

Job Interviewing Tips by Patti Wood MA, CSP

Are you interested in Job finding, Resume Writing, Body Language and Interviewing Tips? I will be on a three person panel of experts today discussing interviewing tips for Channel Five News. You can find articles I have writing on the topic by going to the search portion of this blog and typing in job interviewing tips or body language and job interviewing tips. Here are are a few quick tips.
Life is good. Hard but good. With the economy being what it is some people are looking for new jobs or going on sales calls like never before. If you are in that situation you cannot afford to become stressed or "psyched out" before talking to a potential customer or employer. As a body language expert trainer and one on one coach I would like to share some great tools to "... prepare you mentally to go into the sales call or job interview and be at your best.

• One powerful technique to gain confidence and keep yourself from getting stressed during and meeting is to imagine the emotions you want the prospect or interviewer to have about you and deliver the body language that elicits those emotions. A recent job interview coaching client of mine was very anxious about an upcoming interview and his stress was evident in his body language. He was holding hands in his lap and had his feet tucked under the chair and his voice was so soft I was having to ask him to repeat his statement. I asked him what he wanted his interviewer to feel about him. He said the emotion he wanted the interviewer to feel was excitement. I asked him to imagine how he behaved when he was excited. Then I asked him act that way. His body language and paralanguage changed immediately. He held his head and torso up then he leaned forward and gestured up and out and used a energy charged voice to share his positive work experiences . He smiled and even laughed as he relayed one particular story. He didn't feel excited in the moment before he started moving his body, he felt afraid. But he said, "It was weird as soon as I brought my shoulders back and smiled and put some energy in my voice I got it excited." "It felt like I had just had a cup of Starbucks" So go into your interview showing excitement with up, energetic nonverbal behavior. Do know, of course that there are caveats to excitement being the appropriate response. But overall your demeanor can illicit the appropriate emotion for the situation.

• A second techniques to build confidence is to move and hold your body “UP” upward posture, head held up, gestures with up motions. When we are happy are body naturally moves up and holds itself up. When you hold or move your body the way you would like to feel the posture actually sends a message to the brain, “Hey I am feeling great, positive and up.” As you hold your body the little pharmacy in your brain starts producing the chemicals that match that state, (in as little as a 40th of a second.) and pumps them into your body and you begin to feel up. The combination of your up posture and movement up and chemical up state is felt by the interviewer. They start to give you attentive nonverbal cues and that makes you feel more confident. I call this the fake it till you make it technique. You only have to fake it for a fraction of a second before it actually effects how you feel.

• A third tool is to choose a word that expresses how you would like to feel in your interview and then get into a posture that matches it. So if your word is CONFIDENT your put your body in an open position, arms away from your body, legs uncrossed shoulder back heart forward, extending eye-contact for as long as three seconds, voice going down at the end of sentences.

• And a forth techniques is to use that same magic word to replace any negative thoughts you have about the interview. For example, replace the thought, “ I am going to mess up is and forget what to say with your magic word. “I am going to be CONFIDENT and remember what I want to say.”
E-mail Patti - Patti@PattiWood.net

Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional
The Body Language Expert
Web- http://www.PattiWood.net
I have a new quiz on my YouTubestation. Check it out!
YouTube- YouTube - bodylanguageexpert's Channel