How to Make Eye Contact During a Job Interview

The eyes are powerful tools that can either help you or hurt you during a job interview. More and more companies now work with consultants and experts who instruct managers and executives to pay attention to the body language of prospective employees. This includes eye contact, mannerisms and general posture. Learning what is expected when it comes to eye contact during a job interview can do wonders for your prospects of landing that position.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Choose the friendliest person in the room. If there is more than one executive holding the interview, find the one who makes you feel less anxious and keep coming back to him for eye contact. This will help you loosen up and allow you to shine through the interview rather than worrying about how you are coming across.

2. Do not stay with just one person. Make eye contact with everybody, even if it's only for a few seconds. Otherwise, you risk making the other managers feel ignored.

3. Do not look away, especially during difficult questions. You may need to practice this in front of a mirror, as the natural reaction would be to look in another direction when feeling confronted or under pressure.

4. Blink. Keeping eye contact doesn't mean looking the same way non-stop. Move your eyes from one person to another, look down to the manager's hands (for a brief second) if he's ruffling papers or follow his gaze if he's talking about something or somebody in the room.

5. Make sure you keep eye contact during introductions, hand shakes and job-related questions. To make an even better impression, smile while shaking hands, so you come across as friendly and open.

Tips & Warnings

• If looking straight into a person's eyes during a job interview makes you uncomfortable, a good trick is to focus on another facial feature without giving away the fact. The nose is a good alternative, as are cheekbones or eyebrows. They are close enough to the eyes that most people won't be able to make out the difference during the conversation.
• Avoid looking down to your own hands or out the window. These are the 2 most common mistakes made and the ones that will quickly label you as too shy or insecure.
• Don't look to the person's mouth during conversation. Switching between the eyes and the mouth is fine, but don't focus on anything else except the eyes for more than a few seconds.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How To Make Big Money With Low-Budget Postcard Projects. PostcardProfits.com
• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.