Nonverbal cues in the employment interview: Links between applicant qualities and interviewer judgments.

Abstract

The role of nonverbal behavior in the employment interview inference process was investigated using a modified Brunswik lens model. Thirty-four job interviews for a n actual research assistant position were conducted and videotaped. Job applicants' self-appraised motivation to work and social skill were assessed, and their nonverbal behaviors during the interview were scored. Eighteen judges with training and several years' experience in employment interviewing watched the videotaped interviews and rated the applicants on their motivation, social skill, and hireability. Social skill was found to be more accurately inferred by the judges a s a group than was motivation t o work. Applicants' social skill was apparently transmitted t o the judges via three nonverbal cues. In contrast, there was a lack o f correspondence between cues correlated with applicants' selfappraised motivation to work and those used by judges in making their attributions. Implications for employment interview training are discussed. Not much empirical evidence supports the validity o f the employment interview as a means o f personnel selection (Ulrich & Trumbo, 1965). However, as the interview is considered by most employers to be an important part of the hiring process, investigators have examined various components o f the interview process t o discover what distinguishes a n unsuccessful interview from a successful interview. The applicant's nonverbal behaviors are often assumed by interviewers to provide useful information that is not likely t o b e expressed verbally (Schlenker, 1980). Recent research has demonstrated the importance of nonverbal behaviors in the interview situation (Edinger & Patterson, 1983). Unfortunately, most previous research focuses on only half the role of nonverbal behaviors— connections between the job applicant's behavior and the interviewer's attributions. The present study investigates the full role o f nonverbal behaviors in job interviews, that is, the connections between the applicant's job-related qualities and nonverbal behaviors,