Taking the Initiative in Job Interviews: Extended Responses to Questions and Storytelling

Bangerter, Adrian; Gosteli-Corvalan, Paloma

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46867-9_5

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…how many words they produced. Indeed, these variables could affect story production Bangerter & Gosteli-Corvalan, 2017;.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Etre ou paraître un bon candidat : récits conversationnels, parole rapportée, comportement non-verbal et leur impact dans les entretiens de sélection

Tescari¹

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The job interview is a selection process where the candidate uses verbal and non-verbal means to make a "good impression" and stand out. However, the perception of competence through narrative and non-verbal cues remains a research field to develop. This thesis aims to study the characteristics or perceived characteristics of candidates influencing their interview performance by exploring three interactional phenomena: storytelling, reported speech and non-verbal behavior. Telling a story to illustrate a competency is a complex task for candidates. This difficulty makes the production of stories rare. In Article 1, I tested two variables that may influence the production of stories, pseudo-stories and interviewee performance: information and professional experience. In job interviews, candidates produced more stories than pseudo stories. Candidates' level of information and professional experience did not increase the production of stories and pseudo-stories. Nevertheless, informed candidates felt fewer negative emotions than uninformed candidates. In addition, professional experience significantly predicted interviewee performance. Analysis of the thoughts and feelings felt by the candidates at the time of the interview showed that they were primarily concerned about the quality of the story and its impact on the recruiter. Making a story captivating is a challenge for candidates. One way is the use of reported speech. In Article 2, I studied the phenomenon of reported speech in job interviews conducted in two public service organizations. Direct reported speech is more likely to be produced by women candidates, experienced candidates, and depends on their self-reported capacity to listen. The amount of reported thought is more important for self-control and is correlated with its self-reported degree of mastery. The use of reported speech is a more vivid, authentic and convincing way of demonstrating their skills during job interviews. In Article 3, I explored what underlying perceptual dimensions predict interviewer evaluation from thin slices of non-verbal behavior. Holistic impressions, attractiveness and sympathy can be combined into two fundamental dimensions of perception: Warmth and Competence. Only Competence predicts the evaluation of recruiters. Furthermore, professional experience correlates positively with the competence dimension. The combination of non verbal cues provides an explanation of how recruiters intuitively form their judgments about the perception of Competence during job interviews. The main findings, implications, limitations and future prospects are further discussed.

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“…how many words they produced. Indeed, these variables could affect story production Bangerter & Gosteli-Corvalan, 2017;.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Etre ou paraître un bon candidat : récits conversationnels, parole rapportée, comportement non-verbal et leur impact dans les entretiens de sélection

Tescari¹

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“…Storytelling activities are by nature collaborative. At the story initiation, applicants might hesitate to take initiative and to embark in an extensive turn at talk (Bangerter & Gosteli-Corvalan, 2017). Then, when the story is under way, applicants will need the help of the listener, i.e.…”

Section: Encouraging the Production Of Narrative Responses To Past-behavior Interview Questions: Effects Of Probing And Information (Artimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A further difficulty in producing stories in response to past-behavior questions results from the collaborative nature of everyday storytelling activities. Because would-be storytellers try to gain the agreement of their audience before initiating a story (Mandelbaum, 2013), applicants may hesitate to take the initiative (Bangerter & Gosteli-Corvalan, 2017) required to tell a story because they are unsure of its appropriateness Brosy et al, 2016). Moreover, because a story's progress and denouement depend on the actions of listeners (Bavelas et al, 2000), in the behavioral interview, this means interactive behavior on the part of recruiters (e.g., probing) may be necessary to encourage productive storytelling.…”

Section: Difficulties With Storytelling In the Selection Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A glimpse into social interactions in the selection interview : disfluencies, storytelling, laughter and their impact on interview outcomes

Brosy¹

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Participants in a selection interview, especially applicants, are highly motivated to display information that is to their advantage and will deploy impression management tactics. Yet, recruiters have trouble detecting such tactics. One possible explanation is that some tactics may be more subtle and less obvious to perceive, and thus are unintentionally neglected. This dissertation aims to offer a glimpse of some relevant but little-known interactional aspects that participants deploy during a selection interview and to explore their impact on interview outcomes. I explored three phenomena: disfluencies, storytelling and laughter. First, I explored the applicants’ responses to past-behavior questions. These questions, from an interactional point of view, require applicants to respond in a specific, narrative format. In article 1, one specific type of disfluencies, response delays, predicted applicants’ response type. As time went by, applicants were less likely to produce the appropriate narrative response. Response delays also negatively predicted recruiters’ hiring evaluations. Responding in time and with the appropriate response type has positive outcomes for applicants in terms of selfpresentation goals. Results also pointed out the difficulties applicants experienced to produce narratives on demand. In article 2, I manipulated two ways of enhancing the applicants’ storytelling: probing and information. Recruiters’ interactive behavior (probing) increased the applicants’ production of stories and the variety of narrative elements they contained. Recruiters have a key role to play to enhance the applicants’ storytelling. The applicants’ level of information did not increase the production of stories. However, information decreased the production of pseudostories. Additionally, results confirmed that finding a relevant episode to narrate was a major issue for applicants. Finally, I explored a rather original but promising interactional aspect, laughter (Article 3). In the selection interview, laughter is more likely to be produced by applicants (compared to recruiters), by women and on transitions (between different phases of the interview). Furthermore, shared laughter episodes initiated by recruiters were positively related to their hiring evaluations, whereas applicants’ unilateral laughter was negatively related to recruiters’ hiring evaluations. Laughter is not produced randomly and constitutes a subtle way to manage impressions in the selection interview. Key results and implications for selection interviews, limitations and future research perspectives are discussed.

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Encouraging the production of narrative responses to past-behaviour interview questions: effects of probing and information

Brosy

Bangerter

Ribeiro

2019

European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology

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Taking the Initiative in Job Interviews: Extended Responses to Questions and Storytelling

Cited by 3 publications

References 24 publications

Etre ou paraître un bon candidat : récits conversationnels, parole rapportée, comportement non-verbal et leur impact dans les entretiens de sélection

Etre ou paraître un bon candidat : récits conversationnels, parole rapportée, comportement non-verbal et leur impact dans les entretiens de sélection

A glimpse into social interactions in the selection interview : disfluencies, storytelling, laughter and their impact on interview outcomes

Encouraging the production of narrative responses to past-behaviour interview questions: effects of probing and information

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