5 Body Language Mistakes You Need to Avoid During Interview

Body language is a vital part of job interview and trust me when I say it, it is one of the determining factors of you getting selected or rejected for the job.
You body language says what you don't want to say. But with proper information about what to do and not to do, you can easily control your body language with little practice and crack the job interview of your dream job.

Earlier we had discussed about the 5 Body Langages You Must Know About Before Going for Interview

Today we will be discussing about the body language mistakes that we need to avoid to maximize the chances of selection.

Breaking eye contact
Properer and appropriate eye contact is a crucial assessment parameter for employers to gauge if the job seeker is confident enough or not and if he/she is insecure or deceptive. We don't ask you to stare on the face of interviewer, but try to hold your interviewers gaze for that extra second when you shake hands.

Chopping and Pointing 
Chopping and Pointing fingers represents the anger, frustration and aggression all in very negative way cutting short the connection between you and interviewer. Avoid these gestures even when you get the feelings like them. Instead, manage them by using both your hands in a nicer way, while explaining your point.

Not smiling
Who on the God's Earth, doesn't love a smiling face. A sweet smile brings in warmth and energy. With a gentle smile, you can put yourself and the interviewer at ease. On the other hand, failing to wear a smile on your face will make you come across as a grim and distant personality.

Slouching in chair
Your posture while sitting in a chair before or during the interview carries a lot of weight in terms of you getting selected or rejected in interview. Always sit straight rather than slouching in chair.

Fiddling with fingers
Playing or fiddling with your fingers during interview will put your impression as a bored or disinterested person. By toying with your fingers in interview, you send a direct message to the interviewer that you are not interested in the job or conversation.

Too many hand gestures
Yes, we said it and its absolutely right to use your hand gestures stress some crucial points but it must be balanced.  Too much of hand gestures are distracting and simply annoying. Try to avoid it.

Post by - 
Alok Kumar Upadhayay

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5 Body Langages You Must Know About Before Going for Interview

During career counseling program, I have met alot of management graduates, who were curious to know about the body language for interview. Though, there is alot, you must be aware of, but here we will discuss the 5 most important body languages you must know about before going for interview :

1) A Gentle and Firm Handshake : 

 There is nothing good as a gentle and firm handshake for leaving your first impression. A firm handshake represents the authoritative nature. Weak handshake to start off or end the interview will ruin the whole opportunity, avoid it.

Also Read : How to Get Internship at Google

 

 2) Don't Lean Back or Lean Forward Or Cross Hands: 

Leaning back looks you look LAZY, that you would never want to look like in a job interview. Avoid slugging in chair or taking extra support from back of chair. 

At the same time, leaning forward shows extra aggressiveness. Extra can be harmful here. So, just sit naturally straight. 

Also, avoid crossing your hands as it will send a direct message to the interviewer that you are being defensive. 

3) Proper Eye Contact : 

Remember, you can say alot through your eyes. So never avoid eye contact with the interviewer. Yet, you must not stare or look anywhere else on interviewer's face or body while he/she is speaking. Just stay calm and look calmly during the conversation. 

4) Avoid Constant Nodding : 

Being a "Naysayer" is not recommended in the interview but you must remember to not to leave your impression as more of a YES person. Avoid constant nodding on each and every sentence of the interviewer. 

5) Constantly Looking at the Clock or Watch : 

There is no fixed time duration for interview. It can of few minutes to hours depending upon the interviewer. If interview is taking longer duration and you are in little hurry, avoid constantly looking at the clock or peeking to your watch during the conversation. It might make you look like impatience.   

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GD, PI Round, Tips for First Step on Journey to MBA

Dear MBA aspirants now it is the time to sharpen your communication and presentation skills as you need to gear up for GD and PI round. 

With the shortlists for GD-PI declared by IIFT recently the MBA aspirants have now woken up to the other realities on their journey to MBA and that is they have to make a mark in GD, Essay writing and personal interview round.

Also Read : How to Get Internship at Google

In an attempt to help you ace these rounds and help you make the correct impression in front of the panel of interviewers here are some tips to ace these rounds. 

One must remember the institute is checking your attitude, how well you structure to your thoughts, your problem solving skills and "how he/she approaches any question or problem.

 For Group Discussions, reading a lot helps. You should be assertive but not imposing.

You should be able to contribute to the discussion but at the same time let others speak. It will show how you conduct yourself in a board room. You can get hold of a book which covers the Do's and Don'ts of case GDs along with a few practice cases. Each and every coaching institute have these GD books. Another interesting idea is that you can try and form a group with like-minded friends and discuss these practice cases.

For Interview round make sure you're dressed formally and have a clean look. You should go with an open mind, positive mindset and self confidence. You can be asked anything under the sun and no one expects you to know all the answers but it is important is how you approach the answer. Please remember you should model your interview in such a manner that it meets the expectations of the particular institute. Do not appear nervous. For practice, you can organise mock interviews with family/ friends.

There are always a few typical questions like "Why MBA?" "What are your long-term and short-term career goals? How MBA will help you achieve these goals?" "Which specialization you would like to opt for and why?" You might be asked questions about any drop in education or a sharp fall in marks at any stage - you should be prepared with the answers beforehand.

The key to success in these rounds is reading, practicing and talking to lot of successful people who have graduated from top B-schools.

Wish you all the best for your career....

Stay tuned to MBA Informer for more Updates.


Post By 
Alok Upadhayay 

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Tips for MBA Students to Make Themselves More Employable

A simple graduation was all that it took to get employed in the 80’s.With growing competition and the rise for skilled talent, that bar was raised to an engineering degree in the 90’s.

Until recently, it was the MBA that was doing the popularity rounds. But with the dawn of the new millennium, even the reputed MBA (with exceptions of those from the pedigreed institutions) seems to be falling short in providing employment to the fresh graduates.


Also Read : How to Get Internship at Google

 Just getting a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree is not enough to get your dream job in modern job market. In this time when MNCs opine that 75% of MBAs are proving nothing but just another brick of wall, they are not employable, one need to have something more than just academics to prove himself unique in crowd. Since the corporate world is too competitive, demanding and dynamic, there are other skills that you should be proficient enough to secure the job of your dreams with a handsome salary. Here are some tips that experts suggest every MBA student, in order to help him/her out to make a better career.

1) Enhance Your Soft Skills – Its Important: It is very important to enhance your communication skills, presentation skills and soft skills. For those who're not confident about their soft skills, joining a finishing school to develop your personality, body language, inter-personal and social interaction skills will be beneficial.

2) Knowledge Building: You should be updated with latest trends in your field. It is important to keep on doing courses to update your knowledge. Participate in all kinds of group activities like group case studies, simulations, industry interaction programs and inter- college level academic and extra-curricular competitions to keep yourself updated.

3) Develop Corporate Awareness – It’s Necessary : An employer is not only looking for a MBA degree but also the application orientation of the student. Students in B-school study the concepts of management in their classes but hardly understand how this knowledge can be applied in real business scenario. Thus there is a gap between theory and knowledge. To be able to bag the coveted job you must understand what business is all about and how you can contribute to the growth of any organization.

4) Develop Leadership Skills: Since you will be hired at a managerial position after completing your MBA, it is very important that you're able to manage a group of people. For that you need to develop leadership skills.

5) Learn to be a Team Player: It is very important that you can work in a team, coordinate with your colleagues, communicate with them effectively and make proper adjustments.

6) Strong Network: To be a successful professional, you must be well connected and have a strong networking with people in your field. Having a good network and being active on social networking sites will be useful for you.

7) Carefully selecting internships and placements: You must select a good/ reputed company in your field for internship as it is the only opportunity where you can exhibit your skills by translating them in performance. At the same time, you learn about a particular industry, how it functions and its operations in detail. Ensure that you select an internship in the same profile or industry you intend to work in future.

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Tips on Body Language for Personal Interview

Body language plays a major role in your group discussion and personal interview rounds. As you have read in the previous article on MBA Informer about the role of body language. Remember that, your action speaks louder than your words. So be careful before you act as it can destroy the entire game which you had almost won by utilizing your content, multiple entries and leadership skills.

In this article, we talk about the gestures which should be absolutely avoided by you:

1.   Pointing fingers: Pointing fingers generally signify talking in anger and accusing someone with your finger. It exhibits your aggression.

2.   Playing with pen or paper: Playing with pen, paper or just moving your hands shows careless attitude. Whether you remain silent or talk while playing with such objects, it will show your lack of interest.

3.    Stooping/slouching: You should sit straight while in a GD/PI. Don’t stoop or slouch or bend forward. That is an informal posture and is not at all welcomed in GD/PI rounds.

4.    Sitting with crossed arms/legs: When you sit with crossed arms/legs or both, it refers to a closed mindset and a person who is not ready to accept/listen to others’ point of views.

5.    Throwing your hand: Don’t throw your hands in such a manner that it enters your next group member’s space. Every one has their own personal space and entering that disturbs the entire group coherence.

6.    Fidget: You should not keep fidgeting or move uncomfortably in your chair.

7.     Not to be stiff: When it is advised that you should not keep fidgeting, it is also meant that you should not be absolutely stiff in your position. You should be comfortable in your posture.

8.   Scratching, pricking, rubbing: You should not engage your hands in inappropriate activities such as scratching, pricking, rubbing etc. This will again show your lack of interest in the GD/PI and too much obsession with yourself.

9.     Control your facial expressions: Control your facial expression and avoid showing your anger/disgust/frustration reflect on your face. Also don’t smirk, smile or laugh unnecessarily. Don’t make it too stoic.

10.   Moving your legs: Moving legs refer to impatience. If you keep moving your legs, you will communicate that you want to get rid of the GD/PI process. Even if you feel that way, you should control your movements and body language to make yourself appear enthusiastic in the B-School admission process. 

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