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Differential Effectiveness of Applicant Impression Management Tactics on Employment Interview Decisions 1
Author(s) -
KACMAR K. MICHELE,
Delery John E.,
Ferris Gerald R.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1992.tb00949.x
Subject(s) - interview , impression management , psychology , impression formation , social psychology , job interview , impression , personnel selection , applied psychology , business management , social perception , management , perception , computer science , neuroscience , world wide web , political science , economics , law , business administration , business
It has been a commonly held belief for some time that applicants attempt to manage impressions of interviewers in the employment interview process, but only recently have researchers begun to examine systematically the tactics applicants use, and how effective they are. The present study contrasted two sets of impression management tactics used by applicants and observed their effects on interviewer decisions in a controlled laboratory experiment. An applicant who employed self‐focused‐type impression management tactics was rated higher, received more recommendations for a job offer, and received fewer rejections from business students, who had just completed an interviewer training program, than when he used other‐focused‐type tactics. The implications of these results in terms of both theory and practice are discussed.