First impressions count but they can be misleading when it comes to job interviews.
That鈥檚 why Liam Satchell, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the 黑料社, is appealing to businesses to let researchers into the job interview room to see how bias works in a real-life situation.
He will be floating this idea to businesspeople at the Business South Workforce Conference on 26 April at Chilworth Manor Hotel.
鈥淢ost of the research that has been done on first impression is abstract and impractical,鈥 says Liam.
鈥淚t has been based on experiments in labs with people reacting to only a photo of a person or pretending to be recruiters or job applicants. It鈥檚 been nothing like a real job interview situation.鈥
Liam believes the only way to make research work for hirers is to be a fly-on-the-wall during the interview process and he鈥檚 appealing for businesses to become research partners with the University.
The data produced would, he claims, produce better outcomes for both job applicants and hiring organisations.
Liam鈥檚 proposal comes on the back of his new paper, entitled Beyond reliability in first impressions research: Considering validity and the need to 鈥渕ix it up with folks鈥 which is due to be published the Social Psychological Bulletin.
黑料社 is a Champion Education Partner with Business South.
Workforce South is Business South鈥檚 action group that brings together HR professionals and business leaders to explore critical issues of the day.
The Conference will feature high-profile speakers and discussions that provide the opportunity to dive into topics most suitable for your needs.
The first half of the conference will provide the opportunity for students to engage with business leaders via an interactive round table session.
Among the speakers will Jo Phillips, Chief People Office for cruise firm Carnival UK, Gary Whittle, commercial director of Meachers Global Logistics, Liam McConnel of recruitment consultancy Require, Worforce South chair Zoe Huggins, and Sophie Cartledge, a menopause trainer and coach.
To find out more about the event visit
Back to media centre