First impressions turn out to matter—a lot. Perhaps you think that judging on first impressions is unproblematic. At least some of what we learn from first impressions is meaningful. All of us know that we do learn something in the first seconds of interaction with a new acquaintance. It stands to reason that this may be particularly true of skilled interviewers. But the first seconds of an interview reflect exactly the sort of superficial qualities you associate with first impressions: early perceptions are based mostly on a candidate’s extraversion and verbal skills. Even the quality of a
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