Mirror, Mirror, Across the Desk

If you are a fan of The Office, you are familiar with this season’s sycophant archetype, Andy. In a recent episode, Andy talked about why he was going to be successful and rise to the top after two offices merged. One of the aces up his sleeve was mirroring. He was planning to mirror the personality, body language and speech patterns of his new boss. Sure enough, before he even found his seat, he had found favor with his manager.

Granted, Andy is not the best character to emulate. He is over the top, obvious and insincere, but for a cartoonishly clear picture of mirroring, you can’t find a better example.

Juanita Ecker wrote for The Business Review, “When you synchronize your body language to match another's posture and gestures, that individual will feel comfortable with you and think you are like them. Since we all want to do business with people we are comfortable with, it works in our favor to adjust our posture and nonverbal signals to match the other. If the other person leans forward, you should too. If that person relaxes and leans back in the chair, do the same.” (Juanita Ecker, The Business Review, http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2005/02/28/smallb4.html).

You can and should synchronize your speech and pace as well. If your interviewer is excited and happy, mirror that and let your personality bubble. If your interviewer is staid and professional, save the humor for later and stick to the facts about which of your skills make you an ideal candidate. Does your interviewer speak slowly? Don’t get in a rush—slow down and synchronize.

And always remember, leave your interviewer with a smile and a positive. Make sure you tell him or her that you want the job! Smile into the mirror let your positive attitude reflect on your potential future.