Warm friendly candidates likelier to get jobs than anxious, slow talking counterparts

A new study has revealed that people should more focus on being warm, friendly and assertive during the job interviews rather than being anxious.

The advice came from Amanda Feiler and Deborah Powell of the University of Guelph in Canada, who carefully watched what anxious people do during an interview, and how others respond to them.

People who are anxious going into an interview often do not get hired. In the process, organizations and companies might often reject potential candidates with interview jitters who are otherwise quite capable of doing the job.

Feiler and Powell found that the speed at which someone talks was the only cue that both interviewers and interviewees rate as a sign of nervousness or not. The fewer words per minute people speak, the more nervous they are perceived to be.

Also, anxious prospective job candidates are often rated as being less assertive and exuding less interpersonal warmth. This often leads to a rejection from interviewers.

The study is published in Springer's Journal of Business and Psychology.