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Initial Evaluations in the Interview: Relationships with Subsequent Interviewer Evaluations and Employment Offers

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Abstract

The authors of this study examine how evaluations made during an early stage of the structured interview (rapport building) influence end of interview scores, subsequent follow-up employment interviews, and actual internship job offers. Candidates making better initial impressions received more internship offers (r = .22) and higher interviewer ratings (r = .42). As predicted, initial evaluations of candidate competence extend beyond liking and similarity to influence subsequent interview outcomes from the same interviewer (ΔR² = .05), from a separate interviewer (ΔR² = .05), and from another interviewer who skipped rapport building (ΔR² = .05). In contrast, assessments of candidate liking and similarity were not significantly related to other judgments when ratings were provided by different interviewers. The findings of this study thus indicate that initial impressions of candidates influence employment outcomes, and that they may be based on useful judgments of candidate competence that occur in the opening minutes of the structured interview.
Initial Evaluations in the Interview: Relationships with Subsequent
Interviewer Evaluations and Employment Offers
Murray R. Barrick and Brian W. Swider
Texas A&M University Greg L. Stewart
University of Iowa
The authors of this study examine how evaluations made during an early stage of the structured interview
(rapport building) influence end of interview scores, subsequent follow-up employment interviews, and
actual internship job offers. Candidates making better initial impressions received more internship offers
(r.22) and higher interviewer ratings (r.42). As predicted, initial evaluations of candidate
competence extend beyond liking and similarity to influence subsequent interview outcomes from the
same interviewer (R
2
.05), from a separate interviewer (R
2
.05), and from another interviewer
who skipped rapport building (R
2
.05). In contrast, assessments of candidate liking and similarity
were not significantly related to other judgments when ratings were provided by different interviewers.
The findings of this study thus indicate that initial impressions of candidates influence employment
outcomes, and that they may be based on useful judgments of candidate competence that occur in the
opening minutes of the structured interview.
Keywords: employment interview, self-presentation tactics, impression management, rapport building,
first impression
Face-to-face interviews are frequently used to gather informa-
tion about job applicants (Jelf, 1999). Research over the past
decade has clearly established that the use of structure enhances
the job relevance of this information (Campion, Palmer, & Cam-
pion, 1997; Huffcutt & Arthur, 1994). Yet structured interviews
also contain an unstandardized rapport-building stage where inter-
viewers put candidates at ease by engaging in “small-talk” con-
versations (Chapman & Zweig, 2005). An unanswered question
concerns whether initial impressions from rapport building influ-
ence—even interfere with—the collection of useful information
during the structured interview.
Research in social psychology suggests that during social greet-
ings, individuals develop perceptions of strangers almost instanta-
neously and effortlessly (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992). Indeed,
initial impressions may be instinctual, as human beings naturally
use whatever information is available to facilitate interaction and
survival (Bar, Neta, & Linz, 2006). In the interview context, recent
research shows that information communicated through something
as simple as a handshake, a smile, or the manner of dress can
influence impressions (Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009; Stew-
art, Dustin, Barrick, & Darnold, 2008). Thus, one of our purposes
in this study was to examine whether “fast and frugal” judgments
formed during rapport building, even before any structured ques-
tions are asked, affect interview outcomes.
The social interaction inherent in the rapport-building stage can
be viewed as a potential threat to collection of job-related infor-
mation, particularly since the candidate’s primary agenda is to get
a job offer. Yet, cognitive researchers have shown that individuals
can render judgments of competence quickly. Specifically, Willis
and Todorov (2006) found stranger ratings of competence made
after a 100-ms exposure to be highly correlated with ratings
provided by people familiar with the participant. These findings
suggest interviewers may form evaluations of competence even
before structured questions are asked, and the impressions formed
during rapport building may contain job-relevant information. Yet,
research also shows judgments about liking and similarity form
quickly (Zajonc, 1980). In fact, Howard and Ferris (1996) sug-
gested that three evaluations are routinely made by interviewers:
competence of, affect toward, and similarity to candidates. Since
evaluations of liking and similarity in the interview are viewed as
irrelevant to job performance (Posthuma, Morgeson, & Campion,
2002), the “biasing” effect of initial impressions on interview
outcomes is an important issue. In this study, we assessed the
extent to which impressions formed during rapport building cap-
ture information beyond liking and similarity.
Research in social psychology also shows surprising levels of
consensual agreement in strangers’ social perceptions, even after
very brief encounters (Watson, 1989). Employment interviews are
usually conducted by a single interviewer, which makes it difficult
to separate perceptions made early during rapport building from
subsequent evaluations of answers to structured questions. This
likely inflates these relationships. Yet, evidence of agreement in
stranger ratings implies perceptions of candidate competence
formed early in one interview may generalize beyond that
candidate–interviewer dyad. Although the magnitude of the cor-
relation should be smaller, finding a meaningful relationship be-
tween initial impressions of competence, similarity to, or liking for
a candidate from one interviewer and hiring recommendations or
This article was published Online First August 16, 2010.
Murray R. Barrick and Brian W. Swider, Department of Management,
Mays Business School, Texas A&M University; Greg L. Stewart, Depart-
ment of Management, Tippie School of Business, University of Iowa.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Murray
R. Barrick, Department of Management, 420 Wehner, 4221 TAMU, Mays
Business School, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843.
E-mail: mbarrick@mays.tamu.edu
Journal of Applied Psychology © 2010 American Psychological Association
2010, Vol. 95, No. 6, 1163–1172 0021-9010/10/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0019918
1163
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
... Such impressions are typically based on short slices of verbal and nonverbal behavior of the other person (e.g., Weisbuch et al., 2010), they are formed rapidly (e.g., Willis & Todorov, 2006), and can have far-reaching consequences (see Harris & Garris, 2008;Swider et al., 2022 for an overview). For example, a positive impression can result in evaluating someone as a potential friend, romantic partner, or future employee (e.g., Barrick et al., 2010;Gazzard Kerr et al., 2020;Human et al., 2013;Swider et al., 2016). In personnel selection, initial impressions are thought to be especially relevant for interpersonal selection procedures such as interviews and assessment centers (ACs) and have been found to influence selection outcomes (e.g., Barrick et al., 2010;Ingold et al., 2018). ...
... For example, a positive impression can result in evaluating someone as a potential friend, romantic partner, or future employee (e.g., Barrick et al., 2010;Gazzard Kerr et al., 2020;Human et al., 2013;Swider et al., 2016). In personnel selection, initial impressions are thought to be especially relevant for interpersonal selection procedures such as interviews and assessment centers (ACs) and have been found to influence selection outcomes (e.g., Barrick et al., 2010;Ingold et al., 2018). Yet, in contrast to research on interviews scrutinizing the role of initial impressions (Barrick et al., 2010(Barrick et al., , 2012Swider et al., 2011Swider et al., , 2016, research on initial impressions in ACs has been comparatively scarce (Swider et al., 2022). ...
... In personnel selection, initial impressions are thought to be especially relevant for interpersonal selection procedures such as interviews and assessment centers (ACs) and have been found to influence selection outcomes (e.g., Barrick et al., 2010;Ingold et al., 2018). Yet, in contrast to research on interviews scrutinizing the role of initial impressions (Barrick et al., 2010(Barrick et al., , 2012Swider et al., 2011Swider et al., , 2016, research on initial impressions in ACs has been comparatively scarce (Swider et al., 2022). ...
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This study generates new insights on the role of initial impressions in assessment centers. Drawing from the “thin slices” of behavior paradigm in personality and social psychology, we investigate to what extent initial impressions of assessees—based on different slices of assessment center exercises (i.e., two minutes at the beginning, middle, and end of AC exercises)—are consistent across and within AC exercises, and are relevant for predicting assessment center performance and job performance. Employed individuals (N = 223) participated in three interactive assessment center exercises, while being observed and evaluated by trained assessors. Based upon video-recordings of all assessment center exercises, a different, untrained group of raters subsequently provided ratings of their general initial impressions of assessees for the beginning, middle, and end of each exercise. As criterion measure, supervisors rated assessees’ job performance. Results show that initial impressions in assessment centers are (a) relatively stable, (b) consistently predict assessment center performance across different slices of behavior (i.e., across the three time points and exercises), and (c) mostly relate to job performance.
... Research shows that rapport leads to higher sales performance, greater purchase intentions, stronger customer loyalty, and a range of other commercial and relational outcomes (e.g., Chakrabarty, Widing, and Brown 2014;Clark, Drew, and Pinch 2003;Nickels et al. 1983). Despite the established importance of rapport, academic literature has not only varying definitions but also a somewhat bifurcated view of rapport as part of the approach in the sales call process (Barrick, Swider, and Stewart 2010;Bergeron, Fallu, and Roy 2008;DeCormier and Jackson 1998) versus as an element weaved throughout the sales relationship (DeWitt and Brady 2003;Jokiniemi et al. 2023;Kaski, Niemi, and Pullins 2018). Because rapport is often confused and misconstrued in the literature, we undertake a systematic literature review of rapport, both in its establishment and as a construct that exists throughout (and shapes) the entire selling process. ...
... Our second contribution includes differentiating between activities that happen early in a sales call to establish positive ground and personal connection (i.e., rapport-building) (e.g., Barrick, Swider, and Stewart 2010;Bergeron, Fallu, and Roy 2008;DeCormier and Jackson 1998) and the notion of the buyer and/or seller's perceptions of the interaction as harmonious and a social bond (i.e., rapport) (e.g., Gremler and Gwinner 2000;Jokiniemi et al. 2023;Kaski, Niemi, and Pullins 2018). The behaviors lead to the perceptions, and thus two relevant constructs are needed to understand the existing literature fully. ...
... Zomerdijk and Voss (2010) empirical | Qualitative -case study B2C | frontline employees addresses establishing rapport as an element of setting the tone for B2B sales meetings and identifies the creation of rapport as emotional labor. Barrick, swider, and stewart (2010) empirical | experiment -quasi Job interviews examines how evaluations made during an early stage of the structured interview (rapport building) influence or "bias" interview outcomes. ...
... to interview questions (Barrick et al., 2010;Swider et al., 2011;Swider et al., 2016). This corresponds to assumptions from person perception theories (Evans, 2008;Fiske et al., 2007) that observers are likely to make rapid, implicit, and automatic judgments of a person that may affect their later analytical, explicit, and rational evaluations of this person. ...
... We asked two raters to watch the short video sequences and to provide individual ratings of their first impressions. Consistent with prior research on first impressions (Barrick et al., 2010;Ingold et al., 2018;Swider et al., 2016), raters were not specifically trained, and they were not allowed to discuss their ratings with each other. Following the line of research on person perception (see Fiske et al., 2007, for a summary), we constructed adjective lists to measure first impressions of interviewees' warmth and competence. ...
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Job interviews are among the most popular selection methods. Previous research suggests that interviewees who are perceived as being authentic are evaluated more favorably in job interviews. However, little is known about which behavioral cues elicit perceptions of authenticity in others and whether interviewees who exhibit such authenticity cues are more likely to perform better in the job interview and on their actual job. Drawing from person perception theories, the purpose of this study is to introduce the concept of authenticity cues to interview research and to examine the extent to which authenticity cues are related to (a) raters’ perceptions of interviewee authenticity, (b) interviewer ratings of interview performance, and (c) supervisor ratings of job performance. We used video recordings from 181 employed individuals participating in a mock interview to observe and rate interviewees’ authenticity cues. Results indicate that observers can distinguish between verbal and para/nonverbal authenticity cues and that both verbal and para/nonverbal cues influence the extent to which interviewees are perceived as authentic by independent raters. Moreover, we found that interviewees’ para/nonverbal authenticity cues were particularly relevant to predicting interview performance, whereas only verbal authenticity cues were related to job performance. In our analyses, we further considered the role of first impressions in the interview, interviewees’ verbal cognitive ability, and interviewees’ extraversion. Implications for theories of person perception, authenticity research, and interview practice are discussed.
... Interview structure "involves the establishment and deliberate application of predetermined rules for questions, observations, and evaluations" (Levashina et al., 2014, p. 244). However, structure is regarded as multidimensional and continuous (Chapman & Zweig, 2005), and even otherwise highly structured interviews may include unstandardized elements that facilitate IM: For instance, interviews often start with off-the-record small talk in order to establish rapport (Chapman & Zweig, 2005), and initial evaluations of applicants formed during rapport building have been found to influence interview outcomes (Barrick et al., 2010). A structured interview that is widely used in Germany, the Multimodal Interview (Schuler & Funke, 1989), also comprises a self-presentation section where applicants are asked to freely describe their professional experience as well as their expectations. ...
Chapter
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