Communication is key in any job. As a result, employers will want to see evidence that you have immaculate verbal and nonverbal communication skills during the application and interview process for an open role.
However, getting this right is not always easy. Some candidates struggle when it comes to communicating well during the job search process and this can slow their rate of success.
Yet, a lack of natural communication skills doesn’t have to scupper your chances. This article will look at ways you can shake off your less than perfect habits and have you expressing yourself clearly and confidently when writing your CV and going to interviews.
Nonverbal communication vs. verbal communication
It’s important to remember that good communication is made up of both verbal and nonverbal skills. These can differ quite widely from one another.
Verbal skills focus more on the words and language you use. Normally, a recruiter will focus on how eloquently you express your points, the professional keywords you use and how well you use descriptive language when assessing these abilities.
Nonverbal communication, on the other hand, is quite different. This focuses more on how your body reacts when you communicate. This will be based more on elements like your physical movement and tone of voice.
What are the most important nonverbal skills to remember during an interview?
Nonverbal communication done badly can be a silent killer for your chances of getting the job. Many candidates lose out on positions without knowing that little features hurt their chances.
Getting your nonverbal abilities up to standard for an interview takes practice. You have to pay particular care to how well you project your voice and how effectively you can convey your confidence.
Naturally, this isn’t always easy. Interviews can be stressful and it’s easy for small slip-ups to happen. However, a little mindfulness can help you avoid these mistakes ruining your shot at the position.
When you prepare for your first meeting with an employer, pay particular attention to your:
- Posture
- Gesticulations and body language
- Eye contact
- Tone of voice
- Facial expressions
These are the key areas that will show good or bad nonverbal communication. To get properly ready for your interview, try to follow these essential tips:
- Avoid distractions: Don’t eat or drink or use your phone
- Keep your arms unfolded: This will help you appear confident
- Don’t slouch: This will make you look like you’re bored and uninterested
- Establish eye contact: This doesn’t need to be constant but it should be enough of the time to show you know how to direct your message
- React accordingly: This can be done with simple head movements like nodding
- Don’t touch your face or hair: This will make you look nervous
It’s a good idea to practice eliminating these traits as well as preparing your perfect answers to interview questions. When you start to do this, stand in front of a mirror and try to identify as many areas of improvement as possible. You can then strategically work to eliminate any areas where you fall short.
Getting the best communication skills on your CV
Good communication skills are highly sought after by employers and will need to be well marked on your CV. This will not only show you are able to handle customers well (if necessary) but will also give a good first impression on your ability to work well with other staff members.
You might be wondering how this can be done effectively. It obviously takes a lot more than just listing “communication” in your skills section.
First of all, remember the way you write information in your CV is already an indicator of your communication skills. Picking and choosing the right information, writing in a clear and easy to read way and presenting your career history all give the recruiter an initial idea of how you can communicate.
To make this more relevant to your experience, to show examples of where you were able to convey a lot of details effectively (i.e. making a presentation to a large audience). Further to this try and demonstrate as much as possible how you collaborated successfully with other departments and stakeholders in either your previous job or during a major project.
How you express yourself on both the CV and in-person quite unsurprisingly counts for a lot to an employer. Therefore it’s highly worth dedicating a bit of time to making sure you can speak and write as clearly and as informatively as possible before sending in your document or going to that first meeting.
OnlineCV can help you get the first step right. Try out our range of document building tools that will quickly and easily help you design your template in a way that transmits all your most hirable features fast.
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