Nonverbal Communication in Job Interviews. A Case Study on Local Organisations

Abstract

In general, communication is the indispensable element for the optimal functioning of any human community, regardless of its nature and size. In particular, nonverbal communication is the accumulation of messages, which are not expressed by words and which can be decoded, creating meanings (kinesics). This signal can repeat, contradict, replace, complete or accentuate the message sent through words. The importance of nonverbal communication was demonstrated in 1967 by Albert Mehrabian. After a study, he concluded that only 5% of the message is transmitted verbally, while 38% are transmitted by voice and 55% through body language. Therefore, this research aims to demonstrate the importance of nonverbal communication empirically - in job interviews. The general description of this process is made with the help of a qualitative method - the research interview. The interviews have been registered with ten employers form Arges district in 2018–2019. The conclusions of this study were: employers do take in consideration the importance of how the future employee present himself, but only at instinctual level, the local firms do not have human resources trainers specialized in body language. They look for gestures and clothing stiles and the general body expression is taken into consideration. So the main demands form a future employee, in job interviewing, according to some local leaders, included in the interviews are: dynamism and initiative (J. Messinger, p.34), but in reality it is the gestures that makes the final decision if you correspond on not to what the organization wants/needs.