Making a Good First Impression

In Chapter 14, you learn that communication apprehension is a general fear of real or anticipated communication with a person or persons. Speaking before an audience causes anxiety for many people—and so does speaking with a hiring manager. To make sure anxiety doesn’t adversely affect your communication, try some of our suggestions for building confidence (Chapter 14, pp. 405, 407), such as performance visualization and preparing for the unexpected.

Salina, who works in the nonprofit world, interviewed a candidate who came forty-five minutes late to the interview. To make matters worse, he explained his tardiness by noting that he had to “run home” to get his mom to help him with his tie. Later, Salina had a phone interview with a young woman who didn’t bother to ensure that she had adequate cell phone reception, meaning that the question “What did you say?” dominated the conversation. What these candidates forgot is that the interview is a communication transaction that begins with first impressions and includes situational factors as well as questions.

In any interview, both verbal and nonverbal behaviors contribute to a good first impression. As you prepare for the interview, review your impression-management skills to help your actual performance (Kleinmann & Klehe, 2011). You can also prepare mentally— for example, remembering a personal experience in which you were powerful or took control results in stronger impressions in the interview (Lammers, Dubois, Rucker, & Galinsky, 2013).

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SOME FIRST impressions may be memorable, but that probably didn’t help this American Idol hopeful! © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved, courtesy Everett Collection

In a more practical sense, try to control the things you can at the outset. Give yourself plenty of extra time to get there, so that if something comes up (traffic, a stalled train) you’ll still make it on time. Have your clothing ready ahead of time. If it’s a phone (or Skype) interview, find a quiet place where you can talk undisturbed and where there are no visual or auditory distractions (Dizik, 2011).

During the interview, do your best to control your nervousness so that you don’t appear hesitant, halting, unsure, or jittery (Ayers, Keereetaweep, Chen, & Edwards, 1998; Tsa, Chen, & Chiu, 2005). As with all competent communication, you should adapt your behavior to be both effective and appropriate. Specifically, sit or stand as the other person directs; lower or raise your vocal tone, rate, and pitch to fit in with the tone and pacing of the other person (DeGroot & Gooty, 2009). Also limit gestures so that you don’t distract the interviewer from your words—and relax enough to express genuine smiles (Krumhuber, Manstead, Cosker, Marshall, & Rosin, 2009; Woodzicka, 2008). If you practice with an understanding friend (or even record yourself), you can identify your positive behaviors and minimize any distracting behavior before you go into the interview situation.

If you are still feeling nervous about your first impression, take a look at Box A.1, “What Not to Do at an Interview.” Even if you wind up failing to make eye contact once or twice or you feel your voice shaking a few times, you can at least say that you weren’t the candidate who brought her pet snake to the interview!

BOX A.1 WHAT NOT TO DO AT AN INTERVIEW

The following are real stories about job applicants shared by hiring managers. Needless to say, they didn’t get the positions. . . .

  • “Said if he was hired, he’d teach me ballroom dancing at no charge, and started demonstrating.”
  • “Took three cellular phone calls. Said she had a similar business on the side.”
  • “Man brought in his five children and cat.”
  • “Arrived with a snake around her neck. Said she took her pet everywhere.”
  • “Left his dry cleaner tag on his jacket and said he wanted to show he was a clean individual.”
  • “When asked about loyalty, showed a tattoo of his girlfriend’s name.”
  • “After a very long interview, he casually said he had already accepted another position.”
  • “After a difficult question, she wanted to leave the room for a moment to meditate.”

Source: Miller (1991). Used with permission.