I found a 1965 study at McGill University that found hiring authorities made a decision about their hiring or not hiring a candidate in the first four minutes of the interview… That was 1965 and the study was trying to encourage hiring authorities to spend more time interviewing properly…
I contend that inspite of all the literature, coaching, teaching, training and ‘management development to help managers do a better job of interviewing and hiring, the four minute decision is still not far off from reality…
No manager or hiring authority is ever really going to admit to this reality… what this teaches a job seeker in today’s market is that you’d best make a good impression in the first four minutes of an interview… what you say, your body language, etc. sets the tone for the interview…and may decide on your being hired.
interviewing takes practice… most candidates don’t practice enough… interviewing doesn’t come naturally…
So, how would you evaluate the first four minutes of your interviews?
