tweak your interpersonal skills to get the job

If you just happen to be a people person, than you already know how important interpersonal skills are as far as building work relationships goes. Needless to say, your interpersonal skills are equally as important during the interview process, if not more important, which means you should fine tune these skills before the interview process, if you really plan to get the job.

Specifically, your focus should be on non-verbal communication - both that which you convey to the interviewer or interview panel and that which is reflected back to you by the interviewer(s). You absolutely must be able to sniff out the clues on how well you are performing during the interview in order to take any corrective action. The fact of the matter is that more than 50% of communication is non-verbal and this is especially true during a job interview. Chances are that the interviewer isn't going to pull information out of you or give you the benefit of the doubt on missed opportunities to clarify yourself or sell your skills during the interview. Thus, you must take responsibility for mastering the interpretation of the signals and messages that body language conveys.

Quite often as a job applicant you might miss the boat on picking up the non-verbal clues projected during the interview, if you're accustomed to concerning yourself with trying to make a statement or make an impression, rather than listening to the non-verbal hints that provide valuable insight on the direction you need to drive the interview to be successful. Keep in mind that if you hadn't made, at least, an initial impression then you wouldn't be sitting across from your prospective employer.

In short, while it is obviously important to make sure you get the tried and true elements down packed i.e. making a fabulous first impression or more specifically like proper appearance, the tone and pitch of your voice, and of course your own body language. At the same time, it is paramount that you make sure you fine tune your interpersonal skills such that you are able to interpret the body language and expressions of the interviewer during your five minutes of fame, if you really want to get the job. Let's face it - a lot of hiring decisions are emotional. Thus, make sure you don't get passed over because you failed to focus on your soft skills or should i say active listening skills. Whichever term works for you. Just make it happen.