Out of all the factors that encompass positive body language, eye contact is one of the most important. If you can use eye contact correctly before, during and after your interview, you will automatically display that you:
• You have an interest in the conversation and the position.
• You are secure, and have confidence in yourself.
• You have a good attention span.
• You are trustworthy.
As you can see, establishing good eye contact will show the interviewer some of their most valued qualities in a candidate. Here are some tips on improving your eye contact:
• Before your interview, ask your friends and family to rate your eye contact
in normal conversation. Do you give eye contact when listening, but then
look around while talking? Take their advice and practise giving warm eye
contact (i.e. without staring) during conversations.
• Don’t feel intimidated by the interviewer!
o Think of it this way; this person sitting across the table from you is
earnestly looking for someone to do a job that they need done i.e.
looking for a reason to hire you!
o Think of the interview as a meeting between two professionals;
remain polite but always remember to give yourself credit for what
you have achieved.
o Think of the interviewer as an equal. Yes, this person may be older,
more qualified or more senior, but he or she is still a human
person, with hopes, dreams, fears and a life of their own.
o Rather than thinking of how you can not screw up, think about how
you can develop a great rapport and an interesting professional
conversation with this person.
• There is good eye contact and bad eye contact. Bad eye contact is staring
at the interviewer (read our tips about the correct kind of eye contact
below), looking at the interviewer’s body or jewelery and furrowing your
brow (signifies confusion and overwhelm).
• Instead, keep your gaze calm, friendly and attentive. Feel free to look at
your notes or to something the interviewer may be gesturing towards.
Look sincere and actually listen to what the interviewer is saying (without
using a fake ‘ curiosity’ look or desperately furrowing your brow).
• When averting your gaze (which you must do from time to time to avoid
staring) remember to look sideways and not down, which will signal a lack
of confidence, weakness and lower status.
