Nonverbal Cues in the Employment Interview. Links Between Applicant Qualities and Interviewer Judgments

The role of nonverbal behavior in the employment interview inference process was investigated using a modified Brunswik lens model. Thirty-four job interviews for an 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 as a group than was motivation to work. Applicants' social skill was apparently transmitted to the judges via three nonverbal cues. In contrast, there was a lack of correspondence between cues correlated with applicants' self-appraised motivation to work and those used by judges in making their attributions. Implications for employment interview training are discussed.