Think what happens when you bump into a friend who is chatting to someone you don’t know.  Before your friend even introduces you, you are watching the stranger’s behaviour, and assessing them. Do they seem nice, friendly, warm, or off-hand, rude and cold? You do this all naturally and subconsciously, part of the instinctive “friend-or-foe” early warning system that we have inherited from our cave-dwelling ancestors.

Be in no doubt, when you walk into an interview and meet a stranger (your interviewer) for the first time, all of these same neurological processes are triggered. Clearly you are not the enemy, but does your interviewer warm to you? Is his early warning system telling him to like you, or distrust you? If you want to get the job, it had better not be the latter!

So far, so what? I have discussed the importance of making a good first impression already in this article. It is common sense that it is better that you present yourself as likeable and trustworthy.

 WARMTH—does this person feel warm or cold to me?—is the first and most important interpersonal perception. It no doubt has roots in survival instincts: determining if another human, or indeed any organism, is “friend or foe” can mean life or death.  Warmth is not only perceived first, but accounts for more of someone’s overall evaluation than competence. The warm/cold assessment amounts to a reading of the other’s intentions, positive or negative.

 Well, this is where it gets interesting. It might be that, when it comes to someone’s overall assessment of you, your ability to create these feelings of warmth may be even more critical than your competencies.

 

According to research carried out by social psychologist Amy Cuddy at Harvard Business School, ‘warmth – does this person feel warm or cold to me? – is the first and most important interpersonal perception. It no doubt has roots in survival instincts: determining if another human, or indeed any organism, is “friend or foe” can mean life or death. Warmth is not only perceived first, but accounts for more of someone’s overall evaluation than competence. The warm/cold assessment amounts to a reading of the other’s intentions, positive or negative.’

So what does this mean for you? It means, don’t just rely on your competencies to get you hired. You have to make a conscious effort to be friendly, warm, engaging, personable from the very second you enter the interview room to the moment you leave.

In fact, it goes even further than this. If you are rude to the receptionist, for all you know they could have a close relationship with your interviewer, in which case you could be rejected anyway. So extend the same warm and pleasant behaviour to everyone you meet in the building.

 

Need help with your interview preparation? Download my FREE guide “101 Top Tips for Interview Success

For the ultimate in interview preparation, contact me to discuss the option of Private Coaching

 

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