Crazy Good Interviewing: How Acting A Little Crazy Can Get You The Job

Chapter 3

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions

Take five. Or seven. Or 30. No, I'm not talking about putting down this ground-breaking book to take a rest break, fix a sandwich, or watch Dr. Phil. I'm referring to the number of seconds it takes for someone to size you up on a first meeting—and make a fairly accurate assessment—according to numerous research studies.

People can absorb an enormous amount of visual information when they encounter other people for the first time. This was a lifesaving capability in earlier times when people needed to protect themselves from neighboring tribes. In the deep, primitive recesses of the brain, they developed a way to quickly determine friend or foe before wielding their prehistoric clubs. Should you invite Cro-Magnon Man back to the cave for a wooly mammoth burger or bash him over the head with a club? Determining perceived affinity or distrust of an individual within seconds was critical. Simply put: Eat or be eaten.

First impressions are surprisingly accurate and can make or break your job interview, your Karaoke performance, or even a first date. Various research studies by social psychologists have found that strangers will form an opinion of you within 2 to 30 seconds of meeting you. Although you might not like someone sizing you up before interviewing you, it is human nature. So, use this information to your benefit if you want to be crazy good before the interviewing process even begins.

In fact, 10—count 'em, 10—psychological ...