Before staring the interview, put the applicant

at ease by using ice-breakers, i.e. comments

and questions that have no direct bearing on
the job.
Did

you have a smooth commute?

Hope

we didnt keep you waiting for long, ....

When using ice-breakers, avoid political, religious or

such other topics that may skew the interviewers view
of the applicants job suitability.

It is always a good practice to integrate the topic

of your ice-breaker into transitional statement to
get the interview started.
I

am glad you didnt have any trouble getting here, you

must be excited about the opportunity so lets get started.
This type of transitional statement creates a bridge
between one stage of the interview to another, thereby
eliminating the awkward silence or stammering that can
easily occur.

Balance the amount of talking with listening.

Talking more does not mean that the interviewer
is in control of the interview.
25%

time should be devoted to your talking

75%

time should be devoted to active listening

Active listening requires the listener to feed back what

they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or
paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to
confirm the understanding of both parties.

Listen for connecting themes/ideas relevant to

the job

Summarize periodically

Filter out distractions

Screen out personal biases

Acknowledge any emotional states

Nonverbal messages may be as important as the

verbal messages communicated by an applicant.
Body

Language (body movements, gestures, vocal tone,

pitch, speech rate, pauses in speech etc.)
Eye

Contact

Expressions
Personal
Amount

space

of time between verbal exchanges

Nonverbal messages may not be interpreted the

same cross-culturally.
Some

people smile to mask embarrassment (Thailand)

whereas other may smile when confused (Japan)
Shaking

head up & down means yes in Pakistan whereas

the same gesture means no in Bulgaria
In

US, closed eyes signify boredom or sleep whereas in

Japan, it may mean the listener is concentrating deeply

Nonverbal
Messages

Typical Interpretation

Direct Eye Contact

Friendly, sincere, self-confident,

assertive

Avoiding Eye
Contact

Cold, evasive, insecure, nervous,

indifferent

Biting the Lip

Nervous, uneasy, fearful

Folding Arms

Angry, disapproving, defensive,

aggressive

Slouching in seat

Bored, relaxed

Shifting in seat

Restless, bored, nervous

Leaning Forward

Attentive, interested

Narrowing Eyes

Disagreeing, angry, disapproving

1.

Use Repetition

2.

Summarize

3.

Ask close-ended questions

4.

Employ certain phrases to encourage them to

continue talking

5.

Use encouraging body language

6.

Try silence

The process by which people translate sensory

impressions into a coherent and unified view of the
world around them.
Avoid the following perceptions:
1.First

Impressions

2.Information
3.Single

from Others

Statement

4.Ethnocentrism (Applying own values, standards and beliefs to judge

or evaluate others)

Get Chapter 9 (Types of Employment

Interviews)
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