Take a moment to think about the times when you have experienced joy, pleasure, or the feeling of being content. In such moments, there are noticeable changes to your physical state. For example, when you smile your tension flows away, or your breathing tones down. Compare such feelings in your body to those you feel when you experience sadness, anger or fright.
For most of us, there is a clear difference in the impact of positive and negative emotions on our perception, behaviour and, ultimately, how we progress in life. Once you understand how emotions impact what you do and think from moment-to-moment, you can use their influence to moderate how you interact with those around you.
This is the idea behind using positive emotions during an interview: to widen the scope of an interviewer’s perception and their subsequent memory of the experience with you, which directly affects their decision on whether or not to hire you.
Here are some strategies you can use for positive reflection during an interview:
Do your research before the interview and discover what are the employer’s mission statement and company culture. The main points here will help guide you toward what qualities your interviewer finds most valuable in a potential employee.
If certain personality traits are interesting or appealing to the interviewer, then anchor the conversation with these traits from the very beginning of the interview. This will not only set a good first impression with the interviewer, but it also starts filling their ‘emotional backpack’ with positive feelings that will continue to broaden the interviewer’s perception of you, as well as the information they are open to receive from you. Research shows this effect builds up over the time the interviewer spends with you and helps increase the likelihood they will have positive feelings about you when looking back on the interview. Ultimately, this is essential to getting the job that you interview for.
If, during the interview, you notice negative feedback or cues from the interviewer (e.g. they correct your statements, behaviour, or attire), then pick appropriate moments to mention aspects of your potential that will help the interviewer have positive feelings towards you. For instance, if they are giving you feedback that your grades do not reflect high aptitude or ability, then mention an instance where you used a natural ability to solve a challenge that is somewhat related to the job you are interviewing for. These types of techniques can help counter-balance any negative feedback that comes up in the interview and, again, help the interviewer remember you in a positive way when they are choosing who to hire.
Positive emotions are not just for fun or exciting times in life; they can also be used to regulate the impact you have on your environment. Starting an interview with interesting and appealing points about yourself or the company sets a positive tone for the interview, while using your own positive traits and strengths to outweigh any negative traits will keep you on that positive track with the interviewer. Continue to build these up with your potential employer, and you can significantly increase the probability of being hired.
By Jerry Grimes