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Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson | BBC You've perfected your elevator pitch, can explain your greatest weakness, and know exactly where you want to be in five years. But have you studied your body language? If not, you could end up costing yourself a job offer. Half of interviewers decide within the first five minutes of an interview whether a person is the right match for the job, a survey of more than 2, 600 hiring managers by job search website CareerBuilder found. Often, it's body language miscues that are turning them off. Fidgeting, a weak handshake, or a constant grimace can leave a bad impression and can take even the most talented candidates out of the running for the position. Combine those errors with other mistakes, like dressing inappropriately, swearing, or displaying an arrogant attitude, and you have a recipe for an interview disaster. Nervousness is likely to blame for many of the body language mistakes people are making when they come in for a face-to-face interview.
If you're anxious about sitting down with the hiring manager, the result could be sweaty palms, shifty eyes, and pen twirling, all of which could hurt your chances of getting an offer. To banish those interview jitters, you need to prepare. "The best solution to minimize pre-interview anxiety is solid preparation, " Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer for CareerBuilder, said in a statement. "If you don't read about the company and research your role thoroughly, you could magnify your fear of interviewing poorly and lose the opportunity. " Not sure if your body language is all wrong? Check out this list of the 10 biggest body language mistakes you can make in an interview, according to CareerBuilder's survey. 10. A handshake that's too strong A firm handshake | A firm handshake makes a good first impression, researchers have found, but it's possible to overdo it. A too-strong handshake was a big turnoff to 9% of HR managers CareerBuilder surveyed. When shaking hands with your interviewer for the first time, you want your grip to be firm, not crushing.
If you're nervous before and during an interview, you aren't alone! Going into an interview is similar to your first day of school; you're excited about the potential opportunities ahead of you, but you're also nervous because there's so much room for error and uncertainty. While this is a common feeling, you do need to be careful about how that nervousness may come off to an interviewer. What you communicate verbally is critical, but not focusing on your nonverbal communication can prove to be costly. You may already have an extensive pre-interview prep list, but you'll also want to take the time to identify and correct any bad body language habits that may raise some red flags and lead an interviewer to pass on you. Here are the five bad body language signals you'll want to get rid of before your next interview: Crossing your arms When you cross your arms during an interview, there are two negative vibes you may give off to the interviewer. First, you may be projecting that you're hostile and unwilling to engage and be open.
By doing so, you'll demonstrate that you're actively engaged in not only what they have to say, but the job you're interviewing for as well. Fidgeting Whether it's playing with your hair or repeatedly tapping your feet, few things are more annoying to an interviewer than a candidate who fidgets throughout the duration of the interview. To an interviewer, fidgeting is a sign of nervousness and insecurity, which could make an interviewer believe that you may not be able to handle high-pressure situations within the work place. Interviewers are understanding and will know that you're likely very nervous during an interviewer, but it's best to try and tamper down on these visible manifestations of it. Checking the time You may think a quick flash of the eyes to the wall, your wrist, or the pocket where you keep your phone won't be caught by a hiring manager, but they will certainly know exactly what you're doing once you make an attempt to check the time. Checking the time indicates that you aren't satisfied with the interviewer or the opportunity, so in turn, you're communicating to the interviewer that someone probably wants the position more than you do.
Nearly one quarter of HR managers said a weak handshake was a body language mistake. "Many people find the unwillingness to give a firm handshake as the sign of a lack of commitment or determination — both qualities an interviewer wants to see in an eager new employee, " John Feldmann of Insperity Recruiting Services wrote in a post for Undercover Recruiter. 7. Touching your face Macaulay Culkin touching his face | Fox Twenty-eight percent of hiring managers said playing with your hair or touching your face was an interview no-no. The first makes you look childish and stressed, body language expert Patti Wood told Forbes. The latter conveys something even worse. "Face touching, especially on the nose, is commonly interpreted as an indication of deception, " professional coach Marc Chernoff explained in a blog post. 6. Not sitting up straight Kramer showing some bad posture | NBC Slumping in your seat doesn't convey confidence. Thirty-one percent of HR experts said it made candidates look less than polished in an interview.
(If you have a tendency to slouch, try these exercises to improve your posture. ) Sitting up straight and squaring your shoulders not only makes you look confident, but it also shows you respect your interviewer and the situation you're in, according to Navarro. "No matter what branch of the military you observe, one thing stands out: their shoulders say look at me, I am a leader; follow me. This is part of establishing hierarchy, but it is also how we demonstrate respect, " he wrote in an article for Psychology Today. 5. Crossing your arms Man with crossed arms | Clemens Bilan/AFP/Getty Images Crossing your arms in front of your chest makes you look defensive and hostile, so it's no wonder that 32% of HR managers said this was not something they liked to see in people they interviewed. "You should appear open and approachable, which means your hands should be in front of you and ready to gesture naturally, " Karen Friedman, author of Shut Up and Say Something, told Forbes. 4. Fidgeting House Speaker Paul Ryan fidgets with his tie | Allison Shelley/Getty Images Hiring managers don't look kindly on job seekers who have trouble sitting still, with 32% saying that too much shifting in your seat or foot tapping was a big interview mistake.
Aside from possibly causing some serious pain, a bone-smashing handshake might make your interviewer think you're too aggressive, or perhaps even difficult to work with. "Twisting the other person's hand so that yours is superior or playing hand jujitsu to let the other person know you are in charge is just rubbish, " body language expert Joe Navarro wrote in an article for Psychology Today. 9. Using too many hand gestures Ben Stiller in Mystery Men | Universal Thirteen percent of hiring managers said using too many hand gestures while speaking was a big interview mistake. While talking with your hands has the potential to make you seem more likable, body language expert Janine Driver told Today, flailing arms and wild gestures can be off-putting. "The higher the gesture, the more out-of-control you look, " Driver said in an interview. The key in an interview is balance: Some hand movement keeps you from coming off as too stiff, but too much and you could look like a loose cannon. 8. Having a weak handshake Shaking hands during an interview | A dead-fish handshake is even worse than a too-strong one, according to CareerBuilder's survey.