Job applications personality and body language
Using your posture and body only, mime one of the personality and feeling words below and see if your partner can guess which one it is.
| Nervous/ Stressed | Confident | Arrogant/ Boastful Egotistical | Lazy/ Slack |
| Dynamic/ Energetic | Weak/ Wet/ Weak-willed | Indecisive | Aggressive/ Overly forceful |
| Stubborn | Impatient | Alert | Shifty/ Lying |
| Restless | Calm/ Laid back/ Relaxed | Clumsy/ Careless | Cynical/ Sarcastic/ Negative |
| Obsessive | Expressive | Passionate | Embarrassed/ Shy |
| Cautious/ Thoughtful | Serious | Loud/ Noisy | Unhealthy/ Sickly |
Do the same with your handshake, with your walk as you come into the room and/ or with your voice during your initial greetings when you meet the interviewers (just humming so that you still aren’t using words).
When your teacher stops you, ask about any words above you aren’t sure about, working together to think of related body language and/ or voice each time.
Put a minus next to any negative words below, then do the same with these words:
- A party animal
- Adaptable/ Flexible
- Adventurous/ Radical
- Ambitious
- Amusing/ Funny/ Good sense of humour/ Humorous
- Conservative
- Creative
- Determined
- Domineering
- Easily annoyed
- Efficient
- Forceful
- Friendly
- Hard working
- Helpful
- Impulsive
- Independent
- Intelligent/ Smart
- Knowledgeable
- Moody/ Unpredictable
- Motivated/ Driven
- Negative
- Old-fashioned
- Optimistic
- Outgoing
- Passive
- Perfectionist
- Persuasive
- Pessimistic
- Polite
- Practical
- Quiet
- Reliable
- Rude
- Sensitive/ Thin-skinned
- Short-tempered
- Single-minded
- Snobbish
- Sociable
- Thick skinned
- Punctual
Which are the most important positive words for job applicants? What evidence could you give to prove that you have those characteristics?
Which words from the lists above could be okay to say when the interviewer asks you for your faults? How would you put them into a sentence?
How can you use these words in your answer?
- … However,…
- Although…
- Even though,…
- One the one hand/ on the other hand
- While it is true that…
Make full sentences to explain why the negative personality trait your partner chooses for you is not such a bad thing. Then take turns doing the same.
Give the top three and worst three personality words for a particular job you are thinking of, and see if your partner agrees. Then take turns doing the same.
PDF for easy saving and printing:
Related pages
