First impressions – should we rely on them?

‘First impressions are everything.’

‘I can tell after two minutes whether the candidate is right for the role.’

But value judging first impressions can be misleading.

The fact that a mathematical modeller presents themselves as a taciturn, verbally reclusive, monosyllabic candidate can be a positive indicator if you are seeking a highly numerate and technical analyst whilst the energetic, verbose, gregarious candidate may be an excellent fit for that business development role you are seeking to fill.

When I pick up my candidate at reception who is a mathematical modeller and we proceed tacitly to my office or I pick up my Business Developer and we converse animatedly we might say they are behaving to type and so my first impressions are reliable. But I think there are too many other determinants for these observations to be good indicators.

So how we judge first impressions have too many external influencers to be reliable though if the personalities are behaving to type then check them out with the Lowe personality Profiler jobcoach.org.uk