The Importance of First Impressions in Interviews – Friend or Foe

We pretty much immediately have a ‘gut’ reaction when we meet someone for the first time, that tells us whether we like this person – whether, so to speak we see them as a friend or a foe. How does that instinct come up so quickly with such a damning or embracing reaction and where does it come from? Moreover, if we want to create a good first impression when going for a new job, how can we do ourselves a favour and zoom ‘friend’ into our interviewer’s consciousness?

Not to get too bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo – it’s commonly understood that the brain has two hemispheres, the left dealing with logic, and the right with creativity. This is what we know as the cortex, or new brain. But there’s also a third dimension, the hypo-thalamus or pre-historic brain (in fact, the brain stem) which is solely responsible for instincts. In ancient times, this was essential for making split-second life saving decisions.

More recent research from Switzerland refers to the pre-historic brain as the ‘Gatekeeper’. Incapable of rational thinking, the Gatekeeper’s sole function is to instantly decide whether someone is a friend or a foe, and it judges purely on instinct. If the Gatekeeper is stressed by an approach, it switches on the fight or flight response, and immediately shuts down all other message receptors, making any further attempts at communication impossible. In today’s terms that translates into you never get a second chance to make a first impression!

Understanding how this relates to modern life is essential for effective communication. Interviewees must learn to build a ‘Language of Trust’, and as the Gatekeeper doesn’t have the capacity to think, that language isn’t just verbal. In the first 10 to 20 seconds of meeting an interviewer, your instinctive signals must convey the message of a ‘friend’.

Your body language will convey this, with open and relaxed movements, gestures, facial expressions and eye contact. The speed of your speech must be controlled and gentle, and your voice modulation and tone must stay calm. The Gatekeeper’s decision will also be based on your appearance, clothes, smell, enthusiasm and posture. Finally, don’t invade his or her personal space.

The total focus at this stage is to get past the Gatekeeper so you can develop and build rapport, and open the interviewer’s message receptors. Once you’re past this initial first impression, you can get on with the job of developing a relationship with your interviewer, as the gate will be open to what you have to offer.

The Thomas Gordon Institute has done extensive research on communication. They looked at how words, voice, face and body contribute to believability. They came up with the following after measuring the effectiveness of each component of communication:

Facial Expression = 35%, Body Language = 35%, Voice = 23%, Words = 7%.

So in other words, how we deliver our words, our appearance and the gestures we make are more relevant than what we actually say. Don’t forget, the Gatekeeper can not use rational thought, just an instinctive reaction developed from pre-historic times. That gut-feeling really is an ancient brain feeling. When you understand this, you can take control and make sure you get off to the very best start.

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