SUBTEXTThis can be an advantage to the applicant because it usually
indicates that the interviewer is new at the game.THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERVIEW
The second stage of the interview is how you sit and the subtext
sent out by your posture—and you do sit for the interview. Standing
and looming over an interviewer's desk is foolish and threatening.
The interviewer should always be in charge, or at least think
that he or she is.
Stanly Hyman, a career counselor, coaches job applicants in
what he calls nonverbal, physical mannerisms that he claims can
send a subtext of assertiveness and control in the first few minutes
of an interview.
He advises that you place your chair at a forty-five-degree angle
to the interviewer's desk so that you are almost sitting sideways
to it. When you sit down, cross your legs toward the interviewer
to indicate strength, and open your jacket to show you're secure.
Pull down your jacket collar so that it's tight up against your
shirt to keep your suit from looking ill fitting.
Place your elbow on the chair arm nearest the desk, and lean
a bit on it, Hyman says. Never put your hands together. That
means you're trying to control yourself. If the interviewer tilts
backward, you back off, too—otherwise you'll scare him (or her).
Now you can proceed comfortably with the interview.
There is some value in this advice, but the applicant should
not be that concerned with all the small details of maneuvers
that Hyman advises. Sit up straight, of course, but be relaxed.
Don't hold your hands together—it's a little-boy or -girl posture—
and in most situations, lean into the interview. Leaning back is