ONE thing you can be sure of when you walk into an interview is that you鈥檙e not there to be tested on what you know. The people sitting in front of you are already aware that when it comes to technical skills and qualifications, you tick all the boxes. What they鈥檙e dying to find out is what you鈥檙e like as a person 鈥� whether you鈥檒l fit in, whether they can trust you, how you鈥檙e likely to behave at the office party. From now on, it鈥檚 all about chemistry 鈥� or, more accurately, psychology.
So how do you give yourself the best chance of success? The most common piece of advice you鈥檒l get is to 鈥渂e yourself鈥�. Forget that, it鈥檒l only help if you鈥檙e the chief executive鈥檚 cousin. A better strategy is to exploit the psychological shortcuts that interviewers unconsciously use when deciding whether or not they like someone 鈥� cues such as eye contact and body language. We all use them when meeting someone for the first time, and research shows that interviewers rely on these more than rational analysis when assessing a candidate.
We鈥檙e not advocating wholesale deception, just a bit of fine-tuning to help pitch things in your favour鈥�
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First impressions count
When we meet someone for the first time, we of their personality almost instantaneously. We can鈥檛 help ourselves. Janine Willis and Alexander Todorov at Princeton University found that showing people an unfamiliar face for just one-tenth of a second is long enough for them to form judgements about the person鈥檚 attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence and aggressiveness. Having more time to deliberate doesn鈥檛 change our opinions, it only increases our confidence in them ().
No doubt there are good evolutionary reasons for this, though it鈥檚 not clear how accurate such snap judgements are. Unfortunately, your interviewer is as likely to jump to quick conclusions as the rest of us. So although it may seem obvious, be sure to walk into that room looking upbeat and friendly.
And it鈥檚 best to keep it up, at least for half a minute. Tricia Prickett, while at the University of Toledo in Ohio, found that untrained observers who watched a video of the first 20 to 30 seconds of a job interview were astonishingly accurate at predicting whether the applicant would be offered the job. That doesn鈥檛 mean the observers were especially good at picking good candidates. It means the interviewers, despite being fully trained, still go with their initial gut instinct.
Can we change an interviewer鈥檚 first impression? That鈥檚 difficult, but not impossible, says , who studies personality perception at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Though it鈥檚 easier to dislodge a positive impression than a negative one, he says. 鈥淪ocially undesirable information, such as picking your nose or farting, tends to be weighted more in our assessments. What this means is that good impressions are always at risk of being trashed at any moment.鈥�
DO be prepared to turn on the charm right from the start
DON鈥橳 pick your nose. Bad first impressions are even harder to dislodge than bogies
Look fabulous
Attractive people make more money and go further in their careers because we are all biased towards beauty 鈥� unfortunate but true. This was shown by V. Bhaskar at University College London in a study of a Dutch TV show in which the highest-scoring player at the end of a round chooses which competitor to eliminate. He found that the least attractive players were twice as likely to be eliminated, despite scoring no worse than the others.
聯Attractive people make more money and go further because we鈥檙e biased towards beauty 鈥� unfortunate but true聰
One reason for this is what鈥檚 known as the halo effect: people assume that someone who scores highly in one character trait also scores highly in others. Social psychologist Richard Nisbett demonstrated that the thought process behind the halo effect is almost entirely subconscious (). Use this to your advantage: most interviewers are mugs just like everyone else when it comes to the subtleties of social psychology.
DO make an effort: dress sharp and make sure you look your best
DON鈥橳 be tempted to test out the halo effect using your comic genius
Start with the handshake
Unless you plan on abseiling through the interviewer鈥檚 window, shaking hands with them is probably the first opportunity you鈥檒l get to make an impression. Seize it. But not too hard. Give it a nice firm press, then some up and down movement.
That may sound disquietingly ritualistic, but several studies have found that people unconsciously equate a firm handshake with an extroverted, sociable personality 鈥� and that鈥檚 more likely than a shy disposition to please an interviewer. What鈥檚 more, a handshake can set the tone for the entire interview because it鈥檚 one of the first nonverbal clues an applicant gives about their personality, says Greg Stewart at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, who last year tested the theory in mock interviews with 98 students. He found that those who had a firm handshake were more likely to be hired ().
It鈥檚 also worth making sure your hand is warm. A study in Science last year found that people who had been holding a warm cup of coffee were kinder towards others and viewed them in a more flattering light than those who had been holding a cold cup. This suggests an interviewer might look more favourably on someone they鈥檝e shaken hands with if their hand is warm (Science, vol 322, p 501). This may not be as absurd as it sounds, since temperature and empathic feelings are registered in the same part of the brain, says John Bargh at Yale University, who led the study.
DO grab a hot coffee on the way to your interview
DON鈥橳 overdo the squeeze: a vice-like grip implies an egotistical personality
Mimic what they do
This is a risky one. Most of us tend to imitate the facial expressions, body language and mannerisms of those around us without thinking; it helps us empathise. It can do more than that, though. There鈥檚 evidence to show that mimicking someone鈥檚 postures and body movements can make them like you more.
For example, Robin Tanner at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, found that students rated a new soft drink more highly if the sales rep who was promoting it mimicked the students鈥� physical and verbal behaviours (Journal of Consumer Research, vol 34, p 754).
However, other studies have found that it only leads to a more positive impression if the mimicking is unconscious. 鈥淲e think intentional mimicry doesn鈥檛 work because of the divided attention it requires,鈥� says Bernieri. 鈥淚t disrupts the flow and synchrony of the interaction, which can be a bad thing.鈥� One thing we know for sure: deliberately not mimicking the interviewer is likely to turn them against you.
DO mimic your interviewer鈥檚 physical and verbal behaviours
DON鈥橳 think about it too much, or you鈥檒l start to look weird
Look 鈥檈m in the eye
We tend to find people who are looking directly at us more likeable 鈥� and that applies whether their faces look happy or disgusted. Ben Jones and colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, who discovered this, also found that we rate people who look us straight in the eye as . This is particularly true if they鈥檙e smiling, and especially if they鈥檙e a member of the opposite sex (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, vol 275, p 63).
The team also found that eye contact increases the perceived attractiveness of people who are already physically attractive, but not of those who are physically unattractive (see 鈥淟ook fabulous鈥�). 鈥淭his shows that how others perceive and respond to eye contact is influenced by many factors,鈥� says Jones.
DO maintain eye contact during the interview
DON鈥橳 overdo it. Nobody likes being goggled at
Be nice
No matter how successfully you鈥檝e followed these rules, the interviewer will inevitably ask you all the things they think will help them decide whether to give you the job. You know better. It鈥檚 not about what you say so much as how you behave. Remember: we tend to like those with whom we have something in common, as well as those who seem to like us.
So agree with the interviewer where you can, nod your head and smile. It may pain you to do so, but a study by Timothy Judge at the University of Florida in Gainesville found that ingratiating yourself actually works in job interviews, presumably because if your interviewer gets on with you they will assume you share their beliefs and attitudes. And remember the halo effect: if an employer thinks you鈥檙e likeable, he may also think you are intelligent, hard-working and competent.
If only they knew the real you.
DO smile, nod your head and agree with what your interviewer says
DON鈥橳 laugh too hard at the interviewer鈥檚 jokes 鈥� you don鈥檛 want to creep them out