Job interview tricks to leverage human psychology in your favour

EVER missed out on a job and wondered why? The answer could be as simple as wearing the wrong colour or having the wrong kind of handshake.

CAREERS interview psychology

LANDING a job comes down to three factors lining up: who you know, what you know, and whether the interviewer likes you.

The first two factors might be within your control but the third is usually luck of the draw.

Jobseekers can sway the odds in their favour though, by leveraging a bit of common psychology.

WEAR THE RIGHT COLOUR

Orange is definitely not the new black when it comes to job interview attire.

A CareerBuilder survey of more than 2000 HR professionals finds navy blue and black are best and orange is worst.

istock yellow colourful suit

Leaders wear black, team players wear blue, powerful people wear red, dependable people wear brown, organised people wear white and logical people wear grey.

Green, yellow, orange and purple are for creative types.

Nerissa Chaux, managing director of recruitment firm Brown & Chase, says she generally recommends suits for interviews.

“For men, we suggest steering clear of novelty ties, carrying a backpack or wearing shorts,” she says.

“For women, we suggest thinking twice about mini skirts, sequined dresses or platform shoes.”

MIRROR YOUR INTERVIEWER

Chaux says a good way to build rapport with an interviewer is to mirror their body language as people trust those who are similar to themselves.

“Subtle positive mirroring rather than mimicking can be as simple as reflecting the same language and phrases the interviewer uses, using the same tone of voice and mirroring your interviewer’s body language,” she says.

A similar concept applies in “reflective listening”.

Clarifies and restate what the interviewer says, essentially repeating their points back to them.

Research shows this reassures the interviewer you are willing to attend to their point of view and want to help.

MORE: SNEAKY WAY JOBSEEKERS ARE JUDGED

TAKE THE LEAP: JOBS FOR THRILL SEEKERS

REVEALED: WHY YOUR CV WON’T GET YOU A JOB

FIND A CONNECTION

We all know to research the company before a job interview but Chaux says you should also research the interviewer.

It builds commonality and helps break the ice.

“If you’ve studied the same degree from the same university as your interviewer, you might share the same thoughts on certain lecturers and tutors, certain courses and the degree,” she says.

“Find out where your interviewer comes from, where they’ve studied and where they’ve worked – you might find you have a connection with them that you didn’t realise.”

USE POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE

Body language should be kept professional – not too aggressive and not too lazy.

Chaux says slouching or looking too relaxed gives the impression you don’t take the job seriously.

Conversely, too firm a handshake can make you seem aggressive or overbearing.
“Have a firm but not too strong handshake, sit upright, put your hands either above the table or where they can be seen and keep your feet flat on the ground and stationary,” she says.

“Be confident and friendly without being overpowering.”

It’s also not a good look to be checking your watch or looking over your shoulder like you have somewhere else to be.

iStock_man feet on desk in office job interview

TELL A STORY

Be ready for the question: “tell me about yourself” and deliver a story that stands out.

Christine Khor, managing director of talent management firm Chorus Executive and author of Hire Love: how to hire passionate people to make greater profit, says a lot of jobseekers resort to using business jargon but should really be talking about the kind of person they are.

“Describing yourself as ‘a highly motivated team player’ sounds robotic and inauthentic,” she says.

“Rather, you could say something like ‘I’m the kind of person who gets the whole team together to celebrate our wins. I’m the one that remembers everyone’s birthday and organises cake.’ This paints a picture of who you are in action and gets the interviewer to automatically imagine you doing these kinds of activities for their team.”

ASK FOR A MILLION DOLLARS

Once the job is in the bag, a little bit of psychology can also work in salary negotiation.

University of Idaho research finds simply joking about wanting a million dollars increases the subsequent offer by about 10 per cent.

In the study, the applicant was an administrative assistant with a last listed salary of $29,000.

When asked what salary she wanted, she either declined to name a price or joked: “well I’d like a million dollars, but really I just want what’s fair.”

The average salary offer increased from $32,500 without a figure to $36,200, when she asked for a million dollars.

The concept is called “anchoring”.

Psychology professor and author of the research Todd Thorsteinson says when people encounter a number — even an irrelevant one — they fixate on it, and it influences their judgment.

But before throwing around crazy salaries at the risk of disengaging the interviewer, research company and industry standards so you can show how you arrived at your number.

Originally published as Job interview tricks to leverage human psychology in your favour