The effects of nonverbal communication in the selection interview

This research was a field study on the effects of student applicants' nonverbal behavior on corporate recruiters in the selection interview. Most research on nonverbal communication in the selection interview has been conducted within the laboratory. Little if any research, however, has been conducted in the field. Therefore, more research needs to be conducted in a field setting in order to determine what specific nonverbal cues of a student applicant have either a positive or negative effect upon interviewers.

Forty corporate recruiters who visited the placement office of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, during the winter quarter of 1981 supplied the information for this thesis. Each recruiter was interviewed by the writer of this thesis. A twenty-eight item questionnaire was used in each interview to secure the data.

Results showed that researchers are aware of nonverbal cues of applicants and that these cues can have positive or negative effects upon recruiters. This study also found that much of the popular literature on nonverbal communication in business does not necessarily hold true for the selection interview.

The present findings can be useful in training applicants to be more cognizant of nonverbal communication, thus increasing their chances of success. This study can also aid corporate recruiters in understanding which nonverbal cues of an applicant influence their decisions about that applicant.