The Effect of Applicant Impression Management Tactics on Hiring Recommendations: Cognitive and Affective Processes

The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether applicants' impression management ( IM ) tactics indirectly influence hiring recommendations through cognitive mechanisms (i.e. recruiters' perceptions of person–organisation [ P – O ] fit, person–job [ P – J ] fit, and person–recruiter [ P – R ] fit) or affective mechanisms (i.e. recruiters' positive mood) during authentic employment interviews for actual job openings. Participants consisted of 221 applicant–recruiter dyads from 50 companies in T aiwan. The results demonstrated that applicants' self‐focused IM tactics are positively related to recruiter perceptions of P – J fit, which in turn influence hiring recommendations. In addition, applicant other‐focused IM tactics affect hiring recommendations through recruiters' perceptions of P – O fit. Moreover, applicants' non‐verbal IM tactics were positively related to recruiters' positive mood, which in turn affected recruiters' perceptions of P – J fit and P – O fit, thereby affecting hiring recommendations.