Impression management in the interview: an investigation of personality, impression management, interview structure, and interview performance

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2012
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Abstract
The present study investigated the antecedents and consequences of impression management (IM) in the employment interview. Classes of IM behaviors include ingratiation (e.g., using flattery and opinion conformity) and self-promotion (e.g., playing up or exaggerating one's accomplishments and qualifications). The sample consisted of 158 undergraduate management students participating in high fidelity mock interviews with 43 experienced interviewers from local organizations. Using this sample, the present study examined the influence of demographic variables, personality variables, and the level of interview structure on IM use in the interview. Although personality was measured using self-reports, we gathered peer-reports of personality for a subset of these participants (N = 100). In addition, the impact of different IM behaviors on interview performance was analyzed, as well as the extent to which the level of interview structure moderated the effectiveness of IM. Findings indicated that commonly used IM scales can be broken down into smaller components. Namely, ingratiation can be broken down into "subtle" versus "explicit" ingratiation, while self-promotion can be broken down into "legitimate" versus "deceptive" forms of this IM behavior. Moreover, a number of personality variables predicted IM use in the interview. The primary personality predictor of all IM use in the interview appears to be low Honesty-Humility. Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Emotionality also demonstrated meaningful relationships with IM behaviors. The use of Rapport Building and Behavioral Questions also influenced IM use. Further, IM tactics differentially influenced interview performance, with subtle ingratiation and legitimate self-promotion positively influencing interview performance, and explicit ingratiation and deceptive self-promotion tactics negatively influencing interview performance. Interview structure did not moderate the effectiveness of IM. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
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Bibliography: p. 111-122
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Citation
Bourdage, J. (2012). Impression management in the interview: an investigation of personality, impression management, interview structure, and interview performance (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/4922
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