New CareerBuilder Survey Reveals Top Body Language Mistakes Candidates Make in Job Interviews

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Jul 28, 2010, 07:00 ET

CHICAGO, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Job seekers with shifty eyes, reluctant smiles or fidgety limbs in an interview may be hurting their chances of landing a job. A new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,500 hiring managers reveals that failure to make eye contact (67 percent), lack of smile (38 percent) and fidgeting too much (33 percent) would make them less likely to hire someone. The CareerBuilder survey was conducted between May 18 and June 3, 2010.

When asked overall what additional body language mistakes would make them less likely to hire job candidates, hiring managers reported the following:

Bad posture – 33 percent
Handshake that is too weak – 26 percent
Crossing arms over their chest – 21 percent
Playing with their hair or touching their face – 21 percent
Using too many hand gestures – 9 percent

"In a highly competitive job market, job seekers need to set themselves apart in the interview stage," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. "All that pressure, though, may have some job seekers making body language mistakes that don't convey a confident message. To avoid these faux pas, and ensure you're remembered for the right reasons, try practicing ahead of time in front of a mirror or family and friends."

Haefner offers the following tips to avoid body language missteps during an interview:

Keep calm – To make the best impression and avoid nervous body language, take measures to stay as calm as possible before the interview. Leave the house with plenty of time to get to the interview, avoid caffeine if possible and take deep, calming breaths.
Practice makes perfect – The old adage proves true in this case, as you'll feel more comfortable the more you prepare for the interview, and in turn, it will help decrease your anxiety. Rehearse ahead of time with friends or family, do your homework on the company and be prepared for common interview questions.
See for yourself – Viewing yourself while speaking can help you notice what body language mistakes you might be making without realizing. Look in a mirror while practicing interview responses or videotape yourself to figure out your typical physical movements, and whether or not you need to change them.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,534 U.S. hiring managers (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government); ages 18 and over between May 18 and June 3, 2010 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of U.S. Employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,534 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.95 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset - their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 23 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 32 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder's proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.