Acing the Job Interview

At the end of this month, the student-led Human Resources club is sponsoring a unique and forward-looking seminar to instruct participants on how to use body language in a job-interview setting: "Acing the Job Interview."

"In today's ultra-competitive job market, being able to effectively interview is a necessary skill," asserts Professor Matt Fuss, business professor and club sponsor. "The ability to outperform others in a behavioral interview can be the difference between getting the job and getting a rejection letter."

The three-hour seminar will be taught by Ryan West, a certified forensic interviewer and body language consultant. He will focus on teaching participants how to use body language to effectively present themselves to prospective employers. Participants will be equipped to effectively control and clarify non-verbal messages. They will also explore channels of non-verbal communication, which help people interpret behaviors, use gestures to project confidence and honesty, and demonstrate a basic understanding of neurolinguistics, or eye language.

West is an interviewer through the Center for Interviewing Standards and Assessment and a published author. He has more than 10 years of experience studying forensic and behavioral interviewing techniques and teaches professionals across a variety of discipline-from safety and human resource managers to clinical therapists and attorneys. West has lectured at numerous state and local conferences, in addition to large and small public and private businesses from Fortune 500 to those with 50 or fewer employees.

"Understanding what to say, how to say it and how to project the appropriate non-verbal cues are skills that need to be developed," Professor Fuss says. "This presentation is designed to prepare students for success in the interview process and to help them project an air of confidence and sincerity. These are important skills that they will use for a lifetime."

-Hannah Allman '17