In Canada, direct eye contact signals respect and confidence. But in many cultures, looking a manager in the eye reads as aggressive, so candidates trained to show deference avoid it. Canadian interviewers misread this as lack of confidence and dismiss qualified people.
So in Canada, we are raised with the assumption that eye contact is an important way to show respect. Very simple thing. But when we come to many other cultures, eye contact with someone who is in a higher position, like a manager, is actually considered a sign of aggression. So in an interview, a candidate who may be very capable and confident may have a tendency to look away, look down, and because they're showing respect, they don't want to be disrespectful. To the person that they're having the interview with. So that can be interpreted through our cultural lenses, oh, well, this person's not confident, or are they trying to hide something? It's just something nonverbal and how it's being interpreted, and that can already lead to the person being written off, and then you lose out on the valuable skills or ways of thinking that they can bring into your company.
