Abstract

Employment interviews are one of the most widely used selection procedures; however, concerns regarding their fairness and validity have been consistently raised, given that applicants' personality traits and interviewer characteristics may systematically influence evaluative judgments. The present study examined the effects of applicants' extraversion-introversion, interviewers' extraversion-introversion, and impression management behavior on interview evaluations. Across a series of four stages, mock interviews were conducted with extraverted and introverted applicants, recorded, and subsequently evaluated by extraverted and introverted interviewers. The main findings were as follows. First, extraverted applicants received higher interview evaluations than introverted applicants overall. Second, the effect of applicants' extraversion-introversion on interview evaluations differed depending on interviewers' extraversion- introversion. Both extraverted and introverted interviewers rated extraverted applicants more favorably than introverted applicants; however, this difference was larger among extraverted interviewers. Third, with respect to impression management, introverted applicants received higher interview evaluations when they actively utilized both self-focused and defensive strategies, whereas this interaction effect was not observed among extraverted applicants. The present study contributes to the literature by empirically examining the complex interplay between applicant and interviewer factors in interview evaluation, and is expected to serve as a foundational resource for developing interview preparation strategies for introverted applicants and for enhancing the fairness of interview evaluations. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.