Interviewing? Here are 5 surprising behaviors that will catapult you to the next round
Interviewing is all about showing up as your best self. Cultivate an optimistic and engaged presence with these tactics.
Put yourself in the right mindset
At every level, interviewing is about presence. Going into an interview in a depressed, down or even neutral mindset will decrease the chances of moving on to the next round. Energy and optimism will help your expertise shine.
You can cultivate a positive mindset by doing a 5-minute journaling exercise before you start. It’s easy: just sit down and list all of your wins from the last 3 months.
Try for at least 10. 20 is better.
Did you move and elevate your space? Did you get a new pet or get kudos from your boss at work? Did you reach out to someone for coffee, or get a call back based on your portfolio? Don’t be picky. Wins are anything positive that you’ve made happen in the last 90 days.
You’ll probably surprise yourself with how much you’ve accomplished. And you’ll feel optimistic and energized.
Posture is straight-up important
God forgive me for my puns. But seriously, posture will make a huge difference in your interviewing outcomes.
People won’t notice that you’ve got your shoulders back and your back straight. But good posture translates into your presence, your confidence, and your ability to communicate your expertise.
No matter your level, interviewers will respond positively to this combination.
When interviewing remotely, stand up
For me, this made the biggest difference in my presence in interviews. When I sit down, I slouch. This caused the energy in my body to decline, and counterintuitively caused me to speak more quickly. Neither low energy nor fast speech is a marker of confidence or expertise.
For remote interviews, I put my computer on a cardboard box. I felt calmer. I used my hands more when speaking. I spoke more slowly.
Most importantly, I got the second interview. It was a positive sign that they were excited about me as a candidate.
There’s a high probability that the changes I made to my posture lead to better interviewing outcomes.
When interviewing in person
Make sure to maintain good posture as you are seated.
- Shoulders back
- Back straight
- Feet planted under your body flat on the ground
- Practice at home — find good standing posture, then maintain that as you sit down to learn what it feels like — so you’ll remember in the interview
Practice deep listening with eye contact
When interviewing in person, use eye contact to connect and gauge interest
This is second, because it makes a huge difference. Using an appropriate amount of eye contact helps in a couple of ways. For me, eye contact helps settle me. I know this isn’t universally true, but settling helps me speak more slowly (which comes off as more confident).
With eye contact, you can create a sense of connection. Just be judicious, we’re not trying to make people uncomfortable :)
Eye contact helps gauge your interviewer’s interest in your answers. If they are breaking eye contact, it might mean that it’s time to switch gears — stop talking and ask a question about their process or organization. It’s a helpful measure of engagement.
Eye contact is also correlated to confidence, which you absolutely want to project in an interview, no matter your seniority.
In remote situations, occasionally look directly into the camera. This translates roughly as direct eye contact in the world of remote interviews.
Use your hands when you speak
Hand gestures are also correlated with confidence. If this doesn’t come naturally, practice in the mirror. Come up with a few that feel the most natural. Notice when you use them.
For me, during large public presentations and remote interviews, I found that tenting my hands created a sense of stability in my energy and a sense of power and confidence. Try tenting your hands off screen if you are interviewing remotely and see if it makes a difference in your energy and posture.
Relational behaviors vs. establishing expertise
Be confident, then be warm, in that order
In interviews project confidence first. Then worry about connecting. Both are important. Interviewers want to like you at least to be someone they could see being in the same meeting / room with you for an hour or two every day.
Don’t over index for likability. You need to establish a confident, optimistic posture first.
For a while, I tried hard to follow the ‘authentic’ advice and connect. I would say if I was nervous and be honest about struggles I faced in life and career. People would compliment me during the interview. “Thank you for being transparent.” Then, I wouldn’t get to move on with the interview process.
When I decided to show up as confident and competent (vs. authentic) when I started booking the second and third rounds of interviews.
I hope this helps you in your interviewing journey. Make your own luck!
