When does Impression Management Work: The Influence of Temporal Distance On Interviewer Evaluations

In two experiments, it was shown that the effectiveness of different tactics of self-promotion in personnel selection is affected by temporal distance. In Experiment 1, the use of a direct form of self-promotion was more successful when applying for immediate entry whereas an indirect form of self-promotion was more successful when applying for a job in the long term. In Experiment 2, promoting oneself in concrete terms (situation-specific behaviors) was more successful when applying for immediate entry while promoting oneself in abstract terms (traits) was more successful when applying for a job in the distant future.