The interviewer’s perspective on first impressions and micro expressions in a job interview : a qualitative study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the interviewer’s perceptions on the effects of first impressions and micro-expressions in the job interview. Detailed semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants. The participants were selected from various industrial sectors in the Maltese Island and depending on their employment background, namely being Human Resources (HR) Directors or Managers within the companies or organisations they work for. HR Directors were selected since it is these individuals that regularly conduct the employment interviews within the companies. All the six interviews were transcribed and then analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes are presented: “First Impressions do indeed matter in the Employment Interviews”, “Micro- Expressions do matter in the Employment Interviews”, “Not all companies or organizations follow the same employment procedures”. The participants felt that first impressions and micro-expressions have an impact on how the interviewer perceives and reacts to the candidate. It was revealed that some interviewers give a lot of weight to their first impressions for the candidates and that most of the participants did not fully understand or confused what micro-expressions were. The interviews revealed that the participants had no training when it came to identifying and understanding microexpressions. These and other findings are discussed in detail as well as recommendations for future research.