Tag: influence the interview

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3 Body Language Tricks to Make The Interviewer See You As Confident

Use Body Language Tricks to be Seen as Confident

Confidence in the job interview is everything.

Even if you feel nervous you need to, externally show confidence.

These clever body language tricks will help convince any job interview that you are one hell of a confident interviewee.

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Job Interview Confidence Trick 1

This visualization trick is used by actors.

As you walk into the interview room, the interviewer will look up from his desk and make an opinion about your level of confidence from your posture.

To create a positive posture, imagine that there is a piece of string dangling from the door frame of the interview room. It is long enough to touch the very top of your head. As you walk through the doorway, imagine lifting your head and straitening your back, so your head just reaches the bottom of the string.

This will help you to create a confidence looking posture, influencing the job interview.

Job Interview Confidence Trick 2

Is that Dave? God I’ve not seen you since school

Whenever you meet an old friend who you haven’t seen in ages, you instantly smile, a big bright smile.

A big smile makes the friend feel warm and specially. When in an interview situation, wait until you walk through the doorway and then smile a big bright smile at the interviewer, imagine that the interviewer is an old friend.

This smile will create rapport, likability and you will be seen as positive, approachable and confident.Interview questions and answers

Job Interview Confidence Trick 3

Talk with your hands

Nervous and shy people keep there hands down their sides, it’s as if they want to make themselves look small, unnoticeable.

Confident people will express themselves and communicate with words and gestures. Don’t only does a person who talks with their hands increase communication they look more confident and relaxed.

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Change Your Language Change Your Interview Stress Levels

Understand How Language Change Interview Stress Levels.

Job interviews are really stressful, but are more more stressful by the language the interviewee uses when trying to motivate themselves.

The actual words we use when talking to our-self has a massive impact on your emotional well being. Our internal dialog is created automatically, by taking control of your personal language, you create interview confidence, reducing job interview stress.

Here are 3 simple ways to reduce job interview stress by choosing stress reducing words

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Speaking in the Third Person

Stressed and anxious interviewees use associated language “I have to answer all the interview questions…” Is this is said from a negative perspective, the visual imagery you create from these words increases stress.

Self-distancing helps you to control your thoughts and emotional response. By using disassociated phrases the stress impact lowers “Chris has to answer all the interview questions..” you change your perspective, changing your response and behavior.

To lessen stress, think about the phrasing of yourself talk. Become aware of the “I” you are using, and repeat the same phrase replacing “I” with your name.

Strong and Weak Words

When preparing for the job interview it is easy to fall into the trap of using weak words that didn’t motivate.

Take these 2 examples;

  • I’m going to try and pass the job interview
  • I will pass the job interview

Words such as “try” “maybe” “want” don’t create the feeling of commitment. By replacing these weak words with commitment statements you are more likely to achieve your goals.

When feeling committed to a passing a job interview, your stress levels naturally drop as you have  a positive focus which creates interview confidence.

Interview questions and answers

Language and Perspective

Interviewees often focus on the negative reasons why they need to pass the job interview.

The way you phrase your reason for attending the job interview will create stress or desire.

Most people phrase their job interview goal in the negative stating the thing they want to get away from “I don’t want to be unemployed…”

What you say to yourself, your reason for the job interview, is represented by visual imagery. This image creates an emotional response, either positive or negative and only positive emotions help you to relax in the job interview, increasing confidence.

To increase job interview confidence, reframe your negatively phrased goal positively “I want to gain a job with a pay rise”

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3 Sales Communication Techniques That Will Boost Your Interview Performance

Use Sales Techniques to Boost Your Interview Performance

The job interview is a 45-minute sales pitch

Possessing the art of sales is key to interview success. The better you sell yourself the more employable you will become. Many career professionals possess the experience and skills required for the position and should be offered the job role, but their lack of sales communication techniques let them down.

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Job Interview Sales Communication Technique 1

Speak up to show your confidence

Lesson one in sales is confident communication. What you say and more importantly how you say creates influence.

You will never persuade anyone if you mumble, stutter or speak in quiet tones.

Instead, pick power words – what you say creates an emotional impact. Use tone, projection and talk with gestures and facial expressions to communicate with confidence.

Over two-thirds of communication is non-verbal, this is why you need your tone to create a strong emotional response, increase volume to keep interested and say it with passion.

Job Interview Sales Communication Technique 2

Keep on point

Often salespeople lose a customer as they naturally go off point talking about criteria that don’t interest the customer.

In the job interview keep in mind the desired criteria for the position you are applying for. With this objective in mind, think before you speak and choose examples that relate to both the asked question and the desired criteria.

Also, use the power of three. Keep each sales point to three significant specific items “I’m a strong team player for three key reasons, one…”

Interview questions and answers

Job Interview Sales Communication Technique 3

Use a story

Stories, as all salespeople know, have a strong emotional impact and it’s emotional impact that creates desire.

To have the best impact with your interview answers, use a story rather than just giving specifics. Open with intrigue as suspense increases the interviewer listing to you. Explain the situation and goal, and give a detailed description of how you achieved the objective

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3 Skills You Can Learn That Will Help You To Manipulate the Interviewer

3 Job Interview Maniplutaion Technqiues

Manipulation is the art of getting other people to do what you want them to do.

In the job interview, all interviewees, attempt to manipulate the interviewer (even if this is subconscious).

This doesnt mean you need to lie.

Manipulation can be positive when used to help you sell your real skills, qualities and experiences.

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 Acting Classes

Master manipulators control their emotions.

This is a key skill in a job interview.

First, for many fear and anxiety take over. As well as requiring the skills to reduce this negative associated response to an interview, you need to take this one step further and act like a confident, charismatic and enthusiastic career professional.

Actors are skilled in controlling their emotions.

They can cry on cue, take on the persona of a confident business billionaire or if the part requires it, come across as lovable, charming and friendly.

By being able to create a character in the job interview you can manipulate the interviewer so they believe that this is your natural state.

If your nervousness and fear, are letting you down, join an acting class.

Debate Clubs

Successful career professionals manipulate the job interview with their ability to think on their feet, to reframe negative comments and to passionately fight their own corner.

Manipulators as well as interviewees need to be compelling in their argument to convince others.

Many interviewees fall into the trap of being defensive – this natural strategy will only end in no job offers. Instead learn to debate, persuade and influence with your communication skills.

Interview questions and answers

Code Reading

Have you ever been surprised after, what you presumed was a successful job interview, that you weren’t offered the desire position?

In the job interview, it is easy to get caught up in ourselves, especially as our energy is spent finding examples to the interview question.

It is this internal focus that creates only one perspective.

Code readers, on the other hand, have the ability to focus on their audience, responding to little cues and tells.

People give away so much when you know what to look for. As we said in the 73 rules for influencing the interview, once you understand what simple gestures, body language and the words people use, you can use these “tells” to change your story to influence and manipulate what the employer thinks about you.

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How To Influence The Interviewers Thoughts

How To Influence The Interviewers Thoughts

Influencing others is an important skill to have especially in a job interview.

Being able to persuade people with words can have a massive impact on the outcome of the job interview.

What you say in the job interview creates a picture in the interviewer’s mind, this internal image feeds the interviewer’s emotional response and it is that emotional response, that gut feeling that has a direct impact on the interview outcome.

Even two sentences with the same meaning can create different responses. The key here is to pick your words carefully.

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 The Glass is Half Full or Half Empty

This common saying makes my point clear.

The glass, either half full or half empty, holds the same volume of liquid, but the way you phrase the quantity of water creates a different perspective.

When answering your interview question you need to frame your interview answers in the positive. Imagine you tell the employer that you worked at X organisation, the employer looks disgusted and says “isn’t everyone who works there lazy?” you can easily reframe this response by responding with “yes, that why i want to work for an organisation like yours where you value hard workers like me”  

Using Pain to Create Desire

A big mistake most interviewees make in the interview is not creating a painful story.

Because you are selling yourself, you, the interviewee, believe that you have to state everything in the positive. In most situations you do. But when asked to give an example, stay away from the temptation to explain how you did X with success.

Have you ever been to a movie and the whole film was positive?

The storyline simply being the good things that happen to the main character? No, because people like suspense, we want to be taken on a journey, even though we know the film will have a good ending, we still want to hear about heartache, the problems – we like suspense.

For your interview answer to influence, to have a bigger impact tell a story.

Explain the problem that you were face with and the consequences if you fail. Build suspense, even lower your tone.

Create a story of pain, before you, the superhero of the story comes to the rescue and saves the day.

Interview questions and answers

Pick Power Words

‘Tell me about yourself? ‘ This commonly asked question can either persuade or put off the employer.

The words you choose to use to describe yourself will positively or negatively influence the interviewee, even when the meaning of the word is the same.

This is because all words have different levels of emotional intensity

Say these words out loud and notice how they make you feel different even though the meaning of the word is the same;

  • I’m a good team player or I’m an excellent team player
  • I try my best or I put my all into everything I do
  • dedicated or loyal 
  • responsible or follow rules 
  • goal setter or goal achiever 
  • ideas or innovative 
  • enjoy or passionate 

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The James Bond Interview Strategy

Be James Bond In the Job Interview

With the imminent release of the latest James Bond film “Spectre” we ask, how would James Bond use his secret service skills to influence the job interview and can you replicate the James Bond strategy in your next job interview?

007-bond-movie-announcement-new-title-spectre

Bond has psychological tendencies, he is manipulative, persuasive and charismatic. Bond will do whatever it takes to achieve his mission and wouldn’t think twice about using these same tactics in the job interview.

Turn Your Emotions Off

Bond to get what he wants takes advantage of others, sleeping with women for information, using his charm and influence to create likability with others, getting them to do what he wants them to do.

Manipulation is only achieved by turning your emotions off. Emotional people will feel sorry for the person they are manipulating and won’t follow through with the persuasion. To persuade effectively your focus is on the end game, not the persons feelings.

In the job interview, Bond wouldn’t see the interviewer as anything more then  a target. His mission would be to charm the interviewer, creating deep rapport and likability. James would persuade the interviewer with charm, wit and by telling the employer whatever they wanted to hear.

Bond would go as far as charming the interviewer with a winning smile or when called for, outlandish flirting. Confidence is the key to manipulation, and Bond oozes confidence and charisma – a winning formula. As an under cover agent, Bond would even play the spy game, creating a “cover” who has the experience and skills the employer desires.

Ask, Don’t Answer

In all the Bond films, Bond at one stage or another is caught by the bad guys. Before killing Bond, the baddies ask Bond questions, designed to reveal his secrets. Rather than simply answering questions, Bond asks his own questions, often uncovering the unsuspecting baddies’ plan to take over the world.

The same tactic adopted for the job interview works well. When asked questions relating to an experience or skill you don’t possess, you can simply deflect the question by answering a different unasked question, or even as Bond would do, you can simply exaggerate the truth or at the extreme, lie.

When answering questions, turn this on its head and expand your answer by questioning the interviewer, make them talk, create a flow in the interview as this allows the interviewer to open up, giving you secret insights into criteria the employer wants you to possess. Once these snippets of information have gleamed you can then add these to your next interview answer, impressing the employer.

Create Visual Influence

Bond doesn’t simply use words, a secret identity or cleverly answered interview answers to influence and manipulate the job interview, Bond also uses visual stimulus. Bond, dressed in his tuxedo, polished black shoes and double cuffed shirts, looks like a well-groomed model.

His every gesture, facial expression, stance, walk and eye contact ooze charm, confidence and charisma. Women and baddies both, on seeing James for the first time are influenced by the way he holds himself, the tone of voice he chooses and his perfect eye contact.

Employers meeting you for the first time immediately make an impression about you within milliseconds of meeting you. Visually you need to look the part as this is the set up for the following manipulation of the job interviewer. Get this part right, the rest of the interview manipulation will come with ease, just as Bond always gets his man and wins the day.

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Ace Any Job Interview with Psychology & Body Language Reading

Todays guest post is by Saurabh Tyagi is a career author 

Job interviews are an inescapable part of every educated individual’s life.

One has to face at least a couple of interviews in his or her entire professional tenure.  How you wish you knew mind reading and could just tell what the interviewer is thinking about you. What if this wish of yours comes true?

With a little practice, keen observation and psychological analysis you can almost listen to the thoughts of the interviewer.

More about the same follows.

The 2007 financial crisis has affected the job market in such a way that both the communities, that of jobseekers and recruiters, are having a tough time adjusting with each other.

Savvy recruiters and hiring managers are using a variety of job interview techniques to make sure that they do not end up chasing the wrong candidate. Under such competitive circumstances, a job hunter’s task, which was already tough, has become even trickier than before.

Now, if you need to stand out from others at an interview you are going to need some extra aces up your sleeve.

Almost everyone knows the normal preceding routine to an interview; researching the organization, dressing up well, and arriving on time at the venue. However, the hard part starts now.

Right from the moment you enter the room, till the last word you speak, you will be constantly judged based on your actions, gestures, body language, tone, and last but not the least, your answers.

According to Patti Wood, a body language expert and author of Snap: Making the Most of first Impressions, Body Language, Charisma, “A candidate can give out thousands of non-verbal cues within the first minute of meeting a hiring manager, and those messages make more of an impact than the words that you use during the interview”. 

Now, if you have been to even a couple of interviews, you must be well aware of the fact that hiring decisions are made on more than just skills and experience. It’s a game of Hide and Seek, where multiple psychological factors come into play.

The recruiter will ask certain questions that may appear simple on the surface but are attempts to dig deeper on a psychological level.

He can even play mind tricks on you. But with a little application and experience you can turn the tables and play your own tricks on him to get through the entire process unscathed and emerge as a winner.

Imitation Is the Best Form of Flattery: Use Mirroring

The Mirroring Technique is one of the worst kept secrets of influencing people. It is a great way of establishing instant rapport and initiates a certain level of mutual trust.

If you are able to execute the technique perfectly, the interviewer will deem you trustworthy as he subconsciously finds similarities that connect him with you.

In simplest of terms, mirroring is copying another person’s behavior, way of speaking and mannerisms so as to become a mirror of the other person.  The interviewer nods, you nod, he puts his hands on the table, you repeat after him (after a gap of 20-30 seconds) and stuff like that.

However, proper execution is of utmost importance as the interviewer should never feel that you’re copying him.

Another important rule while mirroring is to adopt only the positive body language and speech from the interviewer. If he gets angry at something, do not even consider pissing him off further by copying his anger. An interviewer with

Do Away With the Fake Smile

Every single positive body language signal that you make in the interview room is a step forward towards clinching the job offers.

Smiling, maintaining eye contacts, sitting in a relaxed posture are all some basics that we are taught to positively influence the interviewer. However, too much of fake smiling should be avoided. False smiles are often easy to spot and too much of it in an interview results in an unfavorable evaluation.

This holds true for other body language gestures as well.

Have A Weakness? Do Not Be Afraid Of Showing It

This is pretty much clichéd.

No one is perfect and our resumes have weak spots. So are you better off hiding them or being upfront and honest about them is a better option?

We all want to be in the good books of the recruiter, and knowing that this interview is perhaps our only chance at making a positive impact; it becomes a real puzzle how to reveal our weaknesses without reducing our likeability.

According to a 1972 Jones and Gordon research, when someone was honest about his/her weaknesses, those listening had a more favorable impression of him or her than if he or she concealed it.

Most of us find honesty as a positive trait, & therefore you have nothing to fear while coming up with your weakness, unless it severely harms your job prospects.

Use the Recruiter’s Name or Title While Having the Conversation

One book that every professional is recommended to read is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Dale says that using someone’s name is an incredibly important part of any conversation. Rightly said, a name is the most intricate part of our identity that stays with us throughout the entire lifetime and even after our death.

Hearing it makes the person feel positively about the person who said it. To use this fact for influencing an interviewer you can refer to him with his name or a title that goes well with his position.

Leave the Fear Outside The Interview Room

The four-letter F word, i.e Fear is certainly the biggest enemy of all job seekers. Pre-interview anxiety is the biggest hindrance in your performance on the big day.

While interview nerves are common and do not always mean a bad outcome, feeling excessive anxious and nervous often sabotages your chances of making it through. To overcome this fear, just remember three commandments:

  • Preparation
  • Positive thinking
  • Avoiding desperation

The last one is pretty important. No matter how badly you want the job, don’t make it a matter of life and death. Remember, it’s just one opportunity and there are many more to come.

Author bio:

Saurabh Tyagi is a career author who has written articles and blog posts for job seekers. These articles help individual apply to new jobs and make through the interviews with unmatched success. Twitter- https://twitter.com/sa_ty

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6 Principles of Job Interview Persuasion

The Psychology of Influence is an insightful read on the principles of influencing and persuasion techniques Dr. Robert Cialdini.

This book is often quote in other books on influence, persuasion and manipulation, which shows how regarded this book is by professionals.

We have taken what Dr Cialdini researched and taught us and made it relevant to the job interview situation.

Dr Cialdini talks about the six principles of influence, we give examples of how any interviewee can use this psychology to influence their next job interview outcome.

COMMITMENT

People have a need to follow through on their commitments; we all strive for consistency and when we commit verbally or in writing to something, we often won’t want to back out of this personal commitment.

To win job offers you first need to gain the employer’s commitment, if they commit to employing you during the interview they won’t want to change their mind.

During the interview you can ask a mixture of questions while answering the employer’s questions, that subtly get the employer to commit to employing you through answering yes to each of your questions, as these yes answers build so does the employers commitment.

“Do you want to hire someone who can (add a unique selling point) example increase your sales?”

“If I could give you real evidence of how I have doubled profits in my past 2 companies, would you want me to show you how I can double your profits?”

“Imagine you hired me, and we worked really well together, increased the sales and made a bigger profit than any previous year, would you want me to teach other people to get the same results that we are getting?”

“Would you hire me, if I could bring over the customer base that I built up?”

All the questions designed to make the employer say yes, even the last question which asks “would you hire me?”

RECIPROCATION

People feel indebted to others who do/give something to them. In the interview, you can’t offer to buy the interviewer a coffee (giving gifts works well for the reciprocation rule) instead you need to give them advice or an idea that would add value to their company.

This has to be unselfish; tell them how X technology will improve production, or how X company have a contract they want to subcontract or explain how a certain sector needs X

It doesn’t matter what the gesture is, what matters is the employer will realise how valuable you are. They will first feel indebted to you because you have told them something that can help increase their profit, and secondly, the interviewer will think if you will give this gem away for free, what else will I get when I employ you?

SCARCITY

Make yourself scarce, unique or valuable. You need to think about the value you can bring to the organization, what do you possess that others don’t? How will you increase company profits? How will employing you add value to their organization? And more importantly, if they don’t employ you what will they miss out on, especially if you become the employer’s competition as an employee at a competitive company.

Once the employer realises how valuable an employee you are, let them know how employers from other competitive organizations have already offered you a position and there troubling you for an answer.

Now you are becoming scarce, the employer might miss out on recruiting you and we all want something we can’t have more. 

AUTHORITY

People listen, trust and follow experts. The more you learn about your industry the more you will sound like an expert.

With all this expertise in your head, share it with the employer, explain how this knowledge of yours will benefit the organization, how you can increase productivity, how you will win new contracts and save on overheads.

In the job interview you have to be seen as an expert in your industry, as this will increase your value, the rule is, if your an expert your worth more to the company. People believe experts and won’t always question your general statements if they believe you are an authority on the subject. 

LIKING

People find it hard to say no to people they like; people like people who are like themselves.

During the job interview, you can increase liking by finding common ground; you both enjoy the same sport, you both went to the same school, you both holidays in Greece or you are both interested in history.

To find common ground, ask friendly questions as the interviewer takes you from the reception area to the interview office, there may be signs of the employer interest in the form of photographs or books/magazines in the office.

Ask open questions about these pastimes and if the employer sounds interested in this, explain how you also enjoy this hobby. 

SOCIAL PROOF  

Most people are followers not leaders, especially when their uncertain about a course of action – to feel comfortable we will go with the crowd. In panel interviews, there will always be a leader.

During the interview make eye contact and answer everyone’s questions, but ensure you meet the values of the leader, impress this personal over all others, as in many cases they will have the last say.