The mediating processes linking applicant personality traits and interviewer evaluation

This study examines interview preparations (i.e., social preparation and background preparation) and impression management (IM) tactics (i.e., self-focused IM and other-focused IM) as the mechanisms between applicant personality characteristics and interviewer evaluation. Data were collected from both actual job applicants and interviewers. Results show that personality characteristics (i.e., extraversion and conscientiousness) have indirect effects on interviewer evaluation in terms of perceived person-job fit (P-J fit) and interpersonal liking through these two types of applicant behaviors. This study accomplishes two goals: (1) it extends the socioanalytic theory of personality (Hogan, 1996) by testing the intervening roles played by applicants' behaviors that correspond to getting along with and getting ahead of others; and (2) it suggests that these applicant behaviors might be important cues for practical interviewers' effective assessment of applicants' performance-related characteristics.