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Hiring new employees is a very complex procedure and a recruiter must think about various things while making a hiring decision. Screening applications, calling for interviews, conducting interviews and then selecting the final candidate; all this takes a lot of smart work.

While group discussions, written tests and interviews are the means to test the required skills and knowledge of a candidate, there are many non-verbal aspects that give you a hint about the prospective employee.

Apart from the educational details and other work-related skills and qualifications, you can know a lot about the candidate’s personality, behavior, interests and attitude through non-verbal communication. This can prove to be a crucial factor while making a hiring decision.

“Your actions speak louder than your words.”

The body language of an individual reveals a lot about his personality and temperament and is helpful while conducting interviews. A recruiter should pay close attention to the non-verbal communication being transmitted by the candidates, to assess confidentially the following things:

• Required skills for the job
• Behavioral traits necessary for a job role
• Level of confidence of the candidates

Mentioned below are some major non-verbal signals that the recruiters need to catch on, to determine various traits of a prospective employee:

• First impact: As it is said that first impression is the last impression, the initial few minutes in an interview are always crucial and deliver a lot about the candidate. Candidate's handshake, eye-contact, outfit, utilization of space, attentiveness and facial expressions tell a lot about how the candidate is as a person and what is his/her level of confidence. An interviewer should notice all these aspects and then proceeds further with the questioning and observe the answer candidates give.

• Stance and utilization of space: A candidate sitting comfortably and not being inflexible means that he/she is confident enough. This gives an impression that the candidate is very comfortable with himself/herself and is secure in his/her abilities. Droopy posture reveals the low self-esteem and careless attitude of the candidate.

• Handshake: A firm handshake shows good confidence level of the candidate whereas a faint handshake tells us that the candidate is not confident about himself/herself. A very strong handshake states that the person might be too aggressive, and this may not be good for the organization as it can create temperamental and behavioral issues later.

• Outfit and embellishments: One need to be formally dressed up on the day of interview. Looking presentable gives a good impression on the minds of interviewers. Here, the facial features and other physical traits are not considered. What you must notice is whether the candidate has tried to look presentable on the day of interview. A well-dressed candidate reflects the sincerity level for the job and respect to the organization. A poorly dressed candidate shows lack of sincerity and least bothered about his/her first impression. Such candidates might not be sincere regarding their work and role in the company.

• Eye contact and consideration: Look out for the listening and participative behavior of the candidate. A candidate who can put forth with confidence his/her portfolio without taking up much space is what any hiring manager looks for. He/she should be comfortable taking down notes and engaging in the conversation and answering. If any candidate sits rolling his/her eyes all around the room or doesn’t makes a firm eye-contact with you then either he/she is not confident and prepared, or he/she is least bothered. A constant stare shows the aggressiveness in the candidate and this indicates that he/she is not bothered about your comfort.

• The way candidate answers your question: Pay close attention to how a candidate is answering your question. A well-prepared candidate would be confident enough to make an eye contact with intact posture and answer correctly and to-the-point. A candidate who is not prepared for the interview would not answer clearly and make up stories while avoiding the eye contact. The posture of a confident and prepared candidate would be firm whereas the lesser prepared candidate would not sit stably.

• Body language and facial gestures: No matter what you say, your face and body cannot lie. The facial expressions and body language are the strongest medium of conversation and communication. One can say a lot with his expressions and body language than the words. The mismatch between the body language and expressions and the words indicates discomfort or lying. This behavior is not expected from the candidates.
  • Body language reveals a lot about the candidate. If any candidate is seated leaning back on the chair with knees crossed, it indicates that he/she is not serious about the interview and has taken the interviewers very lightly. If a candidate has taken over the whole space on desk and is leaning too much forward with all his/her accessories on the desk, it indicates that the candidate is overly aggressive.
  • If the candidate is constantly tapping the pen or stroking the hair every few minutes, he/she is trying to communicate the discomfort at his/her end- either with the set-up of interview, interviewer or may be his/her abilities.

You should always try to listen to what the candidates are not saying with their mouth but through other ways. Non-verbal communication is a very strong form of communication and when addressed attentively, it helps you in judging various things related to the candidates and help you in making a hiring decision.

Though work-related skills, qualifications and expertise is necessary for a candidate to get hired, the normal behavioral traits and other aspects are equally important to consider while hiring.

Interviewing and selecting the individuals who will gel-up with your organization and turn out to be a great employee, is a challenging task. Paying attention to and listening to the non-verbal communication, other than the verbal one, helps you learn a great number of things about the prospective employees.

Turacoz Workforce Solutions being a medical staffing solutions company, recognizes the significance of non-verbal communication and believes that it helps in knowing the candidates and making the hiring decision.

Turacoz Workforce Solutions provides temporary hiring services, temporary-to-permanent hiring services and permanent hiring services to the companies in US & Canada region. To know more about us and to avail our services, write to us at hello@turacoz.in

February 26, 2019 By Aakanksha Pareek