How eye contact can make or break a job interview

Successful eye contact doesn't come naturally to many people, especially in nerve-wrecking and uncomfortable experiences such as interviews, but it affects how we are perceived in almost all of the face-to-face interactions we have in our lives.

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Those who maintain quality eye contact when communicating are perceived as more confident, trustworthy and likeable - which are all characteristics that you should want to portray in a job interview. Eye contact is one of the main reasons why companies want to meet you in person, even if you have already completed a telephone interview with them. They want to see if you come across as sincere in your answers, how interested you seem in the job role and to judge your professionalism.

Why is eye contact so important?

Confidence

Confidence is a trait that all interviewers look for in a candidate. Even if you are a naturally shy person, maintaining eye contact with your interviewer can help you to come across as self-assured in what you have to say and as a much more confident person overall. Believe in yourself and they will believe in you! Avoiding eye contact when answering questions or looking around the room too often will make you look nervous and uncomfortable. However, whilst maintaining strong eye contact throughout the interaction is essential, it is equally important to switch your focus away from the interviewers' eyes every now and again.

Trust

Be it on their CV or in an interview, many people fall into the trap of exaggerating or telling lies in an attempt to impress the interviewers as much as possible. Don't. More often than not, your eyes will give the game away. Our eyes often reveal how we are feeling, and if there is a sudden change in our eye contact pattern when answering a specific question, it will make it incredibly obvious to the interviewer that you are not telling the truth. The more eye contact you make with somebody, the more vulnerable you are to being figured out. Consequently, it can be easy to avoid eye contact when you are telling a lie. Make sure you always tell the truth and keep successful eye contact throughout. As mentioned above, however, it's important to occasionally avert your gaze and not stare at them for too long. In the wild, an intimidating stare could be a sign of threat - you don't want your interviewer to be under the impression that you are about to pounce on them and attack!

Makes presentation more engaging

It is becoming extremely common for companies to ask candidates to prepare and present a presentation as part of their interview. Eye contact is one of the most essential factors in engaging your audience when presenting. If possible, try to learn your presentation by heart or only refer to very brief notes throughout, and make natural eye contact with all of the interviewers. You may find it easier to only make eye contact with those that look most interested, but it is actually the more bored looking interviewers that you need to try and convince - so ensure you make friendly eye contact with them, too! Whilst it's vital to look at all of the interviewers when presenting, make sure that you do it in a random order rather than simply moving your eyes continuously from one side to the other. You're not a water sprinkler.

Attention

Unfortunately, in this day and age, people will frequently check their phone mid-conversation and it comes across as very rude. Obviously you wouldn't dream of doing this in an interview, but the concept is still the same. Maintaining eye contact with interviewers will help to show that you are paying attention and have an interest in what they are saying - don't let your eyes get distracted by the odd painting on their wall or the people walking past the office window. Furthermore, due to our mirror neuron (a nerve that can make us feel in the same mood as the person we are interacting with) poor eye contact and looking uninterested with what the interviewer has to say, can result in them losing interest in what you have to say, too! Eye contact improves the quality of interaction and can help to build a connection between you and the interviewers. Remember to consider their eyes, as well. If they suddenly look more interested when you mention something in particular, expand on it!

How can you improve eye contact?

Perfecting your eye contact will not only help you to land your dream job, but it will benefit you in many walks of life. The best thing about it is that it is actually incredibly easy to master - it's simply down to practise. The more you willingly try to make eye contact with people, the quicker your confidence levels will rise. Here are three simple tips that will see your eye contact technique for interviews improve dramatically:

• Practise interview answers in the mirror whilst looking into your eyes. Remember to naturally look away every now and again, too.
  
• Get your family to ask you interview questions and to give you feedback on your eye contact afterwards. Take their feedback on board and keep practising until it's perfect.
  
• Every time you interact with your friends, or even strangers, start to actively think about when you are making eye contact with them and when you are not. Does it seem natural? Keep adapting your technique until it does.