What a heart breaker! An automotive quality engineer contacted me after moving to a new city to be nearer to family. He is degreed with a terrific background in automotive: from APQP to dealing with the customer. I found this out by doing a reference check with his last boss. All his feedback was positive, and I was especially pleased to hear, “We hated to see him go, but we understood he moved for family reasons.” The guy was not a job hopper and had been at this previous company for a number of years. As a recruiter, a little voice kept on saying, ‘Is this too good to be true?’

I was able to secure an interview for him with a local company. With no relocation needed, I forwarded over the resume along with the reference check and a P/S/R sheet (AQS candidates know what this is). The candidate was then given the password to our on-line interview preparation video. He watched it and made some insightful comments. Follow-up was also perfect from the candidate. “He’s gone.” I thought.

Immediately after the interview, the candidate called excited with excellent feedback from his perspective. “Love it. That is what my job is all about.” I thought as I set the receiver back on the phone.

The hiring manager called me back, “Jon, I think we are going to pass on this guy.” “Really?” What happened?” “He just wouldn’t look me in the eye. I just can’t hire someone who doesn’t seem to connect with people. The rest of the team agreed.” “How was he on the technical side?” “No problem.” ” We just don’t feel comfortable having him join our team.”

Sometimes we just need to listen to mom and dad more often when they told us to look the other person in the eyes. I would like to put my own spin on this, which you are really going to like. Researching the area of interviewing over 2 decades I learned not only how important eye contact is in making a first impression, but also how critical it is in maintaining a rapport as well as in closing the interview properly.

The problem with looking directly into someone’s eyes is there is no focus point. If you try to hold it for any significant time, your own eyes will glaze over. It is also awkward to try to look at the space in between their eyes or the tip of their nose. When doing this, you will be incapable of noticing nuances during the discussion.

What you want to do is to focus on the other person’s LEFT eye. You got it. Look directly into their left eye and hold it as much as you can.  Researchers found that the left eye is connected to the right side of the brain, which is where connections and relationships are formed. By looking into the left eye, you can now comfortably hold eye contact for three to five times longer than looking at a general area. Moreover, the person you are interacting with won’t notice a thing! All they know is that you are really listening and connecting with them. Try this with your spouse. Chances are they will say something like, “Wow, you are really listening to me” or “What has gotten into you?”This alone is one of the best tips you can ever get for interviewing. That first impression is your only impression. If you maintain that rapport throughout the interview, the job may as well be yours.

It was a real tragedy that the fellow didn’t get the job. I am supremely confident he would have done a great job for this company but, in the end, an interview is no different from a process. If one small detail is missed, you are packing your bags…or in this case, not packing your bags.