Dive Brief:
- What makes a good first impression at work? For better or worse, physical appearance, along with communication style, reigns supreme, according to researchers.
- Brian Swider, a professor in UF’s Warrington College of Business, his Warrington colleagues and T. Brad Harris of HEC Paris analyzed hundreds of studies of first impressions in workplace settings. They found that these first impressions could factor into talent cycle decisions in the following weeks and even months, publishing their findings this month in the journal Personnel Psychology.
- “People want to think that they are making really high-level analytical decisions based on effectively evaluating evidence,” Swider said. “And all of the first impression research says no matter what we try to do, that’s not what’s happening.” The report highlighted the challenge managers face in shaking off first impressions and making objective decisions.
Dive Insight:
Swider noted that “what somebody has said about you, what your resume says, the content of what you say in initial interactions is not as impactful” as other cues — a finding that he called “shocking.”
Unconscious bias remains a sticking point in talent management. A survey of U.K. workers by Headstart published in 2021 revealed that while 56% of hiring managers felt like hard work and talent were key drivers in career mobility, 53% of candidates felt like background and their parents were the key drivers instead. Some portion of hiring managers admitted that age, ethnicity or ability factored into previous hiring decisions.
In order for potential hires to get a fair shake, researchers in the UF study suggested that employers structure interviews and assessments in a way where personal judgments don’t carry so much weight in the final outcome. They also suggested involving multiple people in talent decisions.
Meanwhile, other research also emphasizes how first impressions go both ways. Almost half of respondents in a BambooHR survey said that they have second thoughts or regrets about their new position within the first week of the role. About 1 in 4 said they cried during their first week and BambooHR researchers found, on average, employers have less than two months (just 44 days) to convince new hires to stay.
“These findings show that recruiting top talent doesn’t end with an offer letter,” the company’s then-head of HR said in a statement.