Job interview physical gestures

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That's what I did. I have the eye contact and shaking hands down cold, I just wasn't sure about hand gestures, etc.

Very nicely done! And that's where we Aspies can run into trouble. We take something overly seriously. We try to "excel" at something.

I think "eye contact" means the more broader eye slit area and it's more of a gentle almost casual look. And you kind of alternate between eye slit area and the whole face. I think!

(Each of us can do some participant-observation in a place where people have business lunches next good opportunity)

I've interviewed a lot of people (50-100?) in the last couple of years in the tech industry if it helps (e.g. government versus tech versus fast food have different expectations).

An interview is a conversation. The interviewer is trying to determine if you're going to play nice, are trainable and if there's going to be a mistake, is it theirs.

Eye contact is great, as are physical gestures. However, too much (e.g. staring and gesturing wildly) are sure ways to being led out the door.

IF you have a tendency to sit on your hands, this will get noticed. Put your hands on the table and make some gestures using them, but I don't need to see a lot of hand waving.

Too many people try to work on and focus on one thing at a time (e.g. look in the mirror and practice smiling, look in the mirror and practice making eye contact, etc.). You basically wind up stiltedly trying to put all the pieces together and it doesn't look nature.

Just learn how to talk to people. Not your friends (unless your friends are 35+ years old and mature). You will pick up traits and mannerisms which will help you out.

1. Eye contact. I don't want someone who is passive.
2. Don't be a dead fish. Have some passion for the job
3. Be capable of showing intelligence. Most of the jobs (again, my field) are going to concentrate on doing new things and generally not things you've done before
4. Be friendly. I know few jobs where a person is working alone. You must be able to get along with the/a team.
5. If you don't know - that's fine. A lot of times you can claim "I don't know, but let me explain how I'd figure it out" in order to cover your lack of knowledge - and in interviews, how you think is often just as important as what you know.

I didn't get the job I applied for, but I have been applying to others like crazy.

Meh, it didn't pay that much anyway.

Sorry about the job, Tim. Please keep trying. You know as well as I do that it's a numbers game.

It could be that they had a preferred candidate and just called in other people as backup candidates. Or, someone may have gone to the same school as one of the manager, or any other random flux kind of thing.

But if you keep drawing cards, eventually it will fall into place.

Yeah, at least you got some practice!
If you feel you did well, maybe send a card thanking them for interviewing you. That way if more positions open in the future, they will be more likely to remember you.

A follow up email or letter thanking them for the opportunity even if you didn't get the job is always a good idea.

And it can be a very brief card, like two sentences.

(And this is not another 'should.' Most interviewees these days don't send cards.)

I personally never found any use for "thank you" cards/letters. I never gave someone a follow up call/interview because of it. However, I do keep the resume around "just in case" though, sometimes for well over a year along with lengthy notes on the interview and other interviewer comments.

Maybe it's difference elsewhere, but save yourself the grief and hassle.

I will get on the thank you letter first chance I get.

Meanwhile, I apply to about 10-15 jobs per week, some as far away as Honolulu, Seattle, and Boston.

I'n not great being passively interviewed for anything and I have found after long years of interviewing for jobs that managers don't want to hear the truth as they are only interested in hearing what they want to hear. When I interview for a job I always try to learn what they want to hear and feed it back to them in an agreeable fashion. I make eye contact initially then focus my eyes on their forehead or hairline so that it looks like like I'm eyeing them when I'm not.

Ideally I learn everything I can about the job and the company and then I turn the tables slowly and interviewing. Sometimes it's such an experience for them that they hire you on the spot but more often they get rid of you and never call you back again. You've got to play by visiting many companies when you attempt this ploy and ideally you should try to by pass the drones in human resources and call the CEO or some senior VP in the division you are interested in. Ask for their "sage advice" about how you might fit into their company and judiciously flatter them and their company. Tell them you've studied other companies but they stand out as the leader in their field and are the company you'd like to make a career in. Let them refer you down to lower levels of employees who may conduct the interview and don't forget to flatter them and mention the upper level person or persons who referred you and tell them true or not how highly the upper level persons spoke of them and assured you that they will be able to place you in a position just right for you.