Some psychology

There’s a lot of psychology in – and about – recruitment. Some is pretty obvious. Non-verbal communication (or ‘body language’) really does matter, from a confident voice to a friendly smile. Or take ‘mirroring’, for example. Here people who are getting on will tend to subtly ‘mirror’ each other’s body language. Obvously, scowling or defensively-crossed arms do not usually succeed in engaging your audience.

It’s also well established that good first and last impressions are vital – because they tend to be what people remember more. This is why it’s always worth taking time and trouble to arrive with poise, confidence and a friendly approach – and to leave by coming up with something interesting in response to that ‘anything else?’ last question.

But other findings are more surprising. So, for example, there’s evidence that people sometimes don’t always recruit the obviously ‘best’ person – instead, they look for reasons not to recruit. And if they can’t find a good reason to say ‘no’, they say yes. So think about the kind of negative reasons why you might not quite be right – and address them. If nothing else, it’s a good way of examining yourself from the perspective of the other side of the table.