The Uniqueness Effect in Selection Interviews
Abstract
Today’s job market is competitive, leading applicants to try and “stand out from the crowd.” The job interview is an ideal situation for doing so, for instance by preparing original or unique answers to traditional interview questions. This study tested empirically how an applicant providing a unique answer was evaluated relative to applicants providing qualitatively equivalent but nonunique answers. Applicants providing unique answers obtained higher evaluations and improved their chances to get a job offer. Our results suggest that interviewers may be influenced by the uniqueness of applicants’ answers, irrespective of applicants’ true abilities to perform on the job.
References
1994). Judgments of fit in the selection process: The role of work value congruence. Personnel Psychology, 47, 605–623.
(1982). The employment interview: A summary and review of recent research. Personnel Psychology, 35, 281–322.
(1986). A comparison of selection decision models in manager versus student samples. Personnel Psychology, 39, 599–617.
(2004). The mismanagement of talent: Employability and jobs in the knowledge economy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
(1997). A review of structure in the selection interview. Personnel Psychology, 50, 655–702.
(2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, 14–38.
(2002). Trick job interview questions and answers: How to handle interviews and get the job you want. London, UK: Peter Gerstmann Associates.
(1998). The case study method and evolving system approach for understanding unique creative people at work. In , Handbook of creativity (pp. 93–115). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
(1970). Interviewer evaluations of job applicants’ resumes as a function of the qualifications of the immediately preceding applicants: An examination of contrast effects. Journal of Applied Psychology, 54, 27–30.
(2009). What motivates nonconformity? Uniqueness seeking blocks majority influence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 309–320.
(1996). Gender and attractiveness biases in hiring decisions: Are more experienced managers less biased?. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 11–21.
(2008). Competency-based interviewing: Has it gone too far? Industrial and Commercial Training, 40, 81–86.
(1974). Social and personal bases of individuation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 411–425.
(1985). Individuation: Conceptual analysis and assessment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 729–738.
(2000). Accuracy of the situational interview in rating multiple candidates. Journal of Business and Psychology, 15, 73–96.
(2006). Graduates’ employment and the discourse of employability: A critical analysis. Journal of Education and Work, 19, 305–324.
(2000). Selection interview: A review of validity evidence, adverse impact and applicant reactions. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 8, 237–247.
(1992). Studies of the structured behavioral interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 571–587.
(1999). Interviewing training for both applicant and interviewer. In , The employment interview handbook (pp. 337–351). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(1967). Order effects in assessment decisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 51, 170–173.
(2003). An investigation of race and sex similarity effects in interviews: A multilevel approach to relational demography. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 852–865.
(1991). Relative effect of applicant work experience and academic qualification on selection interview decisions: A study of between-sample generalizability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 550–559.
(1977). Abnormality as a positive characteristic: The development and validation of a scale measuring need for uniqueness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 518–527.
(2009). Beauty revisited: The impact of attractiveness, ability, and personality in the assessment of employment suitability. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 17, 92–100.
(2007). Graduate employability and student attitudes and orientations to the labour market. Journal of Education and Work, 20, 285–304.
(1972). Importance of contrast effect in employment interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology, 56, 45–48.
(