Impress in the interview round

Hyderabad: After being a teacher for four years and journeying through a long and successful career spanning 37 years in the travel and aviation industry, Mazher H Syed retired as the COO of a travel management company in 2016 and continues his journey as an eMentor, sharing his values, ethics, and learnings with those who […]

Hyderabad: After being a teacher for four years and journeying through a long and successful career spanning 37 years in the travel and aviation industry, Mazher H Syed retired as the COO of a travel management company in 2016 and continues his journey as an eMentor, sharing his values, ethics, and learnings with those who wish to enrich their own journey. He has authored 23 articles and more than 50 quotations that have been published on LinkedIn. He shares his expertise on how to crack the interview round in Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) exams.

Body language speaks

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The time one gets to make that first and lasting impression is 30 seconds. Make them count.

1. Knock and seek permission before you enter.
2. Greet as per the time of the day without personalizing it.
3. Shake hands if interviewers are two or fewer.
4. Shake hands with the woman interviewer only if she offers her hand; else only nod.
5. Seek permission before sitting.

Handshake conveys attitude

Types of handshakes

1. Palm straight with a slightly firm grip denotes being neutral and formal.

2. Palm facing upward denotes submission.

3. Palm facing downward conveys dominance.

4. Fingertips-grab shows a lack of confidence and eagerness.

5. Glove handshake creates suspicion when meeting someone for the first time.

6. Dead-fish handshake relates to the weak character (feels like holding a dead fish in your hand).

7. Knuckle-grinder handshake – a show-off. Play safe, use the neutral handshake.

Gestures

Standard leg-cross: One leg crossed over the other, hanging downward.

American leg-cross: Resembles the number 4; denotes overconfidence or arrogance and is deemed as bad manners by some. Use standard leg-cross.

Arm-cross

Standard arm-cross: Arms folded together across the chest.

Reinforced arm-cross: Arms-cross reinforced with clenched fists.

Arms grip cross: Arms cross with hands tightly gripping the arms.

Superior arm-cross: Arms cross with both thumbs pointing vertically upwards and the rest of the fingers behind the upper arm. Use Standard arm-cross.

Clenched hands

1. Hands clenched and resting on the desk.

2. Hands clenched and resting on the lap.

3. Hands clenched in a raised position in front of the face.

4. Keeping your hands in your lap is the best option, especially if you are nervous. Avoid bending forward over the table.

You can reach Mazher H Syed through LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mazher-h-syed or email him at mazher.virtuous@outlook.com.