When MBA Applicants reach the Admission Interview stage, they tend to focus on the questions. The type of questions that are asked by the interviewer depends on the first impression. According to recent Studies in Personality and Social Psychology, first impression is primarily influenced by facial features, grooming, & posture.
Good Looks
When we are talking about good looks, we are not referring to the movie star good looks but looks that fix the interviewer’s eyes to your face. According to a study conducted by Clifford and Walster in 1973, teachers believed that attractive children tend to be more successful and another study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) shows that teacher’s expectations influenced academic success. Similarly, interviewer’s biases based on good looks can influence the nature of the questions – probing or, friendly and conversational.
No matter how you look, you can control first impression to a large extend by focusing on facial features that matter.
Smile
We are capable of judging between a fake and a sincere smile. So when you meet the interviewer, imagine that you are meeting a well-wisher. Send out genuine warmth and happiness, and the smile will come across in the initial interaction.
Eyes
More than the size of the eye what matters is how you use them during initial interaction. When you meet the interviewer with a genuine smile, your eyes tend to open up and glow, sending across a message of openness and curiosity. When an interviewee doesn’t look into the eyes, shift her gaze, or partially close it while listening, the interviewer will sense insincerity.
Voice
The first “Hello Mr. /Miss X”, “Nice to meet you” is the sound that an Interviewer hears from you, immediately following the first impression created by your facial features. Practice the line several times. The voice modulation during the initial interaction is crucial in creating the first impression. The quality of voice does matter. A high frequency voice shows a lack of confidence. Unfortunately, interviewees cannot do much about how they sound but should practice the delivery.
Baby Face vs. Mature Face
If you have been often referred to have a baby face (read Selena Gomez, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Carey Mulligan), it is likely that the first impression that the interviewer will have about you would be that of someone who is warm, honest and likable. If you have a broad jaw, thick brows, or prominent nose, the impression send across is that of someone who is shrewd, dominant, and insincere. Evaluating your facial profile into these two categories can help you highlight attributes that are complimentary to the first impression.
For Baby face, warm and likeable can also be interpreted as weak and indecisive. By including experiences of ....
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