Why visual and vocal interview cues can affect interviewers' judgments andpredict job performance

Using videotaped interviews with 60 managers in utility companies, the auth ors found that a composite of vocal interview cues (pitch, pitch variabilit y, speech rate, pauses, and amplitude variability) correlated with supervis ory ratings of job performance (r = .18, p < .05). Using videotaped intervi ews with 110 managers in a news-publishing company, the authors found that the same composite of vocal cues correlated with performance ratings (r = . 20, p < .05) and with interviewers' judgments (r = .20, p < .05) and that a composite of visual cues (physical attractiveness, smiling, gaze, hand mov ement, and body orientation) correlated with performance ratings (r = .14, p < .07) and with interviewers' judgments (r = .21, p < .05). Results of te sts of mediation effects indicate that personal reactions such as liking, t rust, and attributed credibility toward interviewees explain relationships (a) between job performance and vocal cues and (b) between interviewers' ju dgments and both visual and vocal cues.