Personality Characteristics of Job Applicants and Success in Screening Interviews

Although there is substantial evidence that personality constructs are valid predictors of job performance, there is less systematic evidence of how personality characteristics relate to success in the interviewing process. Measures of the Big Five personality markers were obtained from a sample of graduating college seniors (n = 83) who were engaged in a job search. At a later time these students reported the strategies used in the job search and success in generating follow‐up interviews and job offers. Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness were positively related to the use of social sources (e.g., talking to others) to prepare for interviews. Conscientiousness was positively related to the use of non‐social preparation. Use of social sources for preparation for initial interviews was positively related to the likelihood of receiving follow‐up interviews and job offers. The results suggest that personality is related to interviewee's success in part through actions taken well before the interviewing process begins and in part through the interviewers' inferences of the applicants' personality during the interview.