Ways Nonverbal Cues Help You Evaluate an Engineering Candidate

As a hiring manager or recruiter, you know the importance of a good resume when it comes to leaving a good first impression. However, you also know that a resume doesn’t even come close to telling the whole story about the candidate. To learn more, you need to conduct an interview.

An interview is a great time of back-and-forth between you and a potential employee. Both of you use the opportunity to evaluate whether or not the available position is a good match for the candidate. That’s done by a lot of information gathering from both of you.

But beyond the actual verbal exchanges between yourself and the interviewee, there are also nonverbal cues that can assist you in determining whether or not the position is a match. Here are a few of them.

 

1. Eye contact

You might be thinking that you already know about the importance of eye contact. However, are you aware that there is such a thing as too much eye contact?

People who are lying often try to compensate for their lies by engaging in an excessive amount of eye contact. If you’re interviewing someone who seems to be making more than the usual amount of required eye contact, it could be a sign that you’re listening to a fib.

 

2. Gestures

Body gestures are actually a good thing during an interview. They let you know that the candidate is engaged in the conversation and is not afraid to show a little personality. In short, the gestures tell you that the person is genuine.

 

The other side of that coin, of course, is the candidate who talks with his or her arms crossed. That’s a defensive signal, and an indicator that the person is probably awkward in social situations.

 

3. Frowning

If a person is frowning a lot in a job interview, then that is certainly a telltale sign that the candidate will not radiate happiness in day-to-day work. If your corporate culture thrives on people who enjoy their work, you probably want to avoid candidates who convey negativity.

 

4. Back posture

If the candidate is hunched over, that’s a sign that he or she is disengaged from the conversation. Again, if this is happening during a job interview, when the candidate is expected to try to impress someone, then what do you think that person will be like in normal, everyday work?

 

5. Fidgeting

Fidgeting could also be a sign that someone is hiding something. If you see someone playing with a thread on an article of clothing, rubbing hands, or some similar mannerism while trying to convince you about the quality of his or her work history, you’re going to want to probe a little further to ensure that the person is telling the truth.

 

Here at Selectek, we know more than anyone else about how to fill those in-demand engineering positions. We have a proven track record in matching skilled candidates to exact-fit opportunities. That’s been the basis of our success, and why we’ve become the staffing solution of choice for many hiring managers looking to fill engineering positions.