by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: March 29, 2010

The problem with job interviews is not that a person's body language gives them away, it is that many interviewers think that they are "body language" experts when they are not.  Unless a person demonstrates the extreme of problematic body language, or is lying effusively, body language should not be accepted as the only excuse for a rejection.

One article in Forbes Magazine cites such behavior as terrible handshakes, ridiculously poor posture, terrible speaking habits, such as mumbling, and failing to make eye contact. The fact is that a person is not likely to have success in many social endeavors with those behaviors, let alone in extremely formal and stylized settings, such as job interviews!

In essence, the average person knows to be on their best behavior when interviewing for a job. Job interview tips are a never ending topic in every form of media and they come from every person who has interviewed for a job. It is highly unlikely that the average person, who knows how to prepare for a job interview would have so many extreme problems. So what else is being used to make determinations based on body language?

Folding arms is a classic sign of defensive posture, but what if the interviewer is doing the same? When the interviewer engages in extremely poor body language, is this a test to see if the job candidate will mimic the behavior or is the interviewer a slob? Who drops the "F" bomb and other terrible language in an interview? The interviewer or the job candidate?

In fact, if the interviewer is the true body language nightmare, would it hurt or help the job candidate to follow advice and sit with feet neatly on the floor, make plenty of eye contact and to follow all of the rules to the letter? Would the sloppy interviewer resent the sharp and impressive behavior or be made uncomfortable when someone behaves as advised? This is a question that has no universal answer.

The only facts about body language that holds true is that all of the rules and advice are more likely to be extremely important in large companies or professional firms that have savvy interviewers. Otherwise, the best preparation and practice is the key to eliminating most body language pitfalls, no matter what the setting or quality of interview.

The greatest problems lie in not preparing and practicing. There are excellent sources of advice on how to handle problematic issues, such as lack of experience or past

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