Before your interview, small talk can help you land the job.

March 13, 2023
3:42 pm

Joy Olaivar

Harvard Business Review

Just finished a study that investigates if informal conversation before a formal interview affects the interview itself. In other words, how you interact with others from the moment you enter the room until the first interview question will have an impact on how well you perform.

Many of the highlights from the sample group’s 163 interviews, which were videotaped, are as follows:

1. It is true that interviewers are influenced by first impressions.

2. The candidate who had a solid rapport during the opening exchanges of the interview performed better. This disappears as the interview goes on.

3. The most crucial factor in evaluating candidates was their responses to interview questions that connected to their potential jobs.

Interesting. And very true

To learn how this study was conducted, read the HBR article. It fascinates me because after conducting hundreds of interviews, I learned how much credit I give to people who I can instantly connect with, especially if it’s just a casual talk that makes it seem like we’ve known each other for years.

People who fit the company’s culture and have the necessary skill sets for the position are two things that all employers seek for. The way you present yourself from the moment you walk in the door plays a big part in whether you get employed, but this differs for different businesses.

The good news is you have total control.

Many job seekers research the answers to common interview questions, such as “what is your greatest weakness,” in order to prepare for the interview. According to this study, if you are lousy at making small chat in the beginning, you cannot respond to that question. You will appear to the interviewer to be far behind, and if you falter during the official interview, you might have dug yourself a too deep hole.

Those who originally made an effort to be sincere, friendly, enthusiastic, and upbeat are permitted to begin the formal interview with the hope (and prayer) that they have the skill set necessary to carry out the work well. One can only hope that during the interview you’ll truly warm up socially after those awkward first encounters. Experience has taught me that if this doesn’t happen in the first few questions, the interviewer will probably start to psychologically doubt your suitability.

These might be the bad initial rapport before a formal interview.

Dead fish handshake.
No eye contact.
No smile.
MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE – Answering rapport building questions with one word answers. Example questions are, “How was the traffic this morning?”, “Did you have any problems finding this location”, or “How was your weekend?” These questions are your license to talk and show your personality! Don’t tell me the traffic was “fine”! Tell me that you were very excited to meet with me and you left much earlier than you had to knowing that the freeway can bottle up at any time in this city. Anyone who jokes and says, “And I only had to stop once to rescue a turtle crossing the road” will most likely be a finalist if they have the skill sets!