The Three Most Important Elements of Communication in a Job Interview

Essay by bethany98University, Master'sA+, March 2005

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When I began preparing to retire about six months ago I did not realize how complicated it would be to obtain a civilian job. My first hurdle was being able to put into writing, without using military jargon or acronyms, what I have been doing for the last twenty years. Another hurdle for me was to gain some insight on how to effectively sell myself in a job interview, which I have never done in a civilian setting. As I researched information on job interviewing for this class, and for my future employment, I realized that a job interview was a complicated and stressful process. In a job interview a person has to communicate, to a total stranger, that he or she is the best applicant for the job. There are many elements of communication that affect an interviewer's perception of an applicant. In my opinion, body language, vocal quality, and content of speech are the most important elements of communication in a job interview.

In fact, statistics indicate that a person's body language represents about 55%, vocal quality represents about 38%, and word content represents about 7% of the effectiveness of their message. Through my experiences in the Army and from the research that I have done for this course I will explain why I feel that body language, vocal quality, and content of speech are the three most important elements of communication in a job interview.

In my opinion, body language is the most important element of communication when being interviewed. Most people disregard the importance of body language because it is natural, a part of our subconscious, and it and shows our true feelings and attitudes. During a job interview a person's body language can contradict what their spoken words are saying. For example, when the applicant...