Emily Coates of ExFed.com, a blog for former federal employees has valuable information for interview candidates.

Last week we were a speaker at the Military Officer’s Association of America (MOAA) Job Seminar, an event we always love attending. One of our fellow speakers at the event talked about power positioning during an interview and recommended a couple of techniques: sit in an open position, keep your hands on top of the table and don’t sit right across the interviewer (move your chair a bit off center).

While being so impressed with the quality and experience that ex-military members bring to the workforce, we were also struck with the importance of body language preparing for any kind of job change. Being conscious of your body language is as important as what you say and what is on your resume.

While there are mountains of techniques listed on the internet, with both narrative descriptions and videos, we thought we would share a few techniques that we have found useful based on hundreds of interviews we’ve conducted over the years:

Tip 1: Start the interview with a firm handshake. Don’t try to break their hand but make sure it’s a firm grip. No limp fish handshake. This is particularly important for women. Shake hands with everyone in the room who is interviewing.

Tip 2: Smile. Creating a pleasant demeanor goes a long way.

Tip 3: Lean into the interview. Don’t sit back in the chair in a casual sitting position. Be attentive and by leaning in you are showing interest and engagement.

Tip 4: Hold your head high. Dropping your head is a submissive posture and you want to show confidence by keeping your chin up.

Tip 5: Shake hands at the end of the interview. Follow the rules in Tip 1. This leaves them with a confident end of the interview.

Bottom Line: Do your research and find out about body language during interviews, but when it comes to the interview, be yourself. An applicant who is comfortable in how they present themselves is more likely to impress than an applicant trying to remember all the nuances of body language techniques.

Go to www.TADPGS.com to view our job openings and join our LinkedIn group, Veterans Hiring Solutions for Veterans and Companies at http://linkd.in/Sg346w. If you have specific questions about issues affecting you, your benefits, your dependents etc., feel free to send them to me personally at Ben.Marich@Adeccona.com, and I will try to help you.