The Interview Starts Before the First Question
When Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn revealed that he asks taxi drivers how candidates behave on their way to an interview, it echoed a famous Richard Branson strategy.
How you treat a driver, receptionist, or assistant may reveal as much as your polished answer in a boardroom.
These examples capture a truth that candidates often forget: the interview rarely begins with the first formal question. It begins at reception. In the lift. In the corridor. In the small exchange with the person who offers you a drink.
Before anyone asks about your achievements, you are already being judged.
The Strategy Behind First Impressions
Organisational psychologist Anat Rafaeli has spent much of her career studying emotional expression in the workplace. Her seminal research with Robert Sutton shows that our displayed emotions in organisational life – our tone, micro-expressions and everyday interactions – directly dictate how others experience us.
An interview is simply this dynamic intensified. It is not just an exchange of data; it is a high-pressure social encounter. You can use this to your advantage by deliberately managing your presence from the moment you arrive.
Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal’s work on “thin slices” of behaviour demonstrated that people make remarkably consistent judgements from very brief observations. For a candidate, this is an opportunity. A strong, warm start creates a positive frame. It encourages the interviewer to lean in and look for evidence that confirms their good first impression.
Subtle Signals You Can Control
Even the smallest details can influence the room’s energy. Consider the cup of coffee.
A famous 2008 study published in Science suggested that briefly holding a warm drink could make people view a stranger as more generous and caring. While subsequent replication attempts for this experiment have been mixed, the underlying neuroscience remains fascinating: physical warmth and emotional warmth share overlapping pathways in the human brain.
The takeaway for an interviewee is psychological preparation. When you accept that glass of water or tea, or when you take a moment to settle comfortably into your environment, you are priming your own comfort. Physical ease translates directly into a calm, confident presence.
Your clothing sends signals too. Famous research by Andrew Elliot, Roger Feltman and colleagues into colour-in-context theory suggested that wearing specific colours, like red, can subconsciously alter perceptions of dominance, status and attraction.
While this field has also seen mixed results in replication, research by Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky proves that clothing exerts a measurable, dual influence, known as enclothed cognition: clothing alters how others perceive your authority while systematically shifting your own mental processing.
When you choose an outfit that projects capability, it acts as a tool for both outward communication and internal priming.
You aren’t just dressing for the interviewer; you are strategically triggering the focus, confidence, and psychological readiness to embody the traits associated with that position.
Owning the Narrative
Every touchpoint is a chance to show who you are. How do you engage with the receptionist? How do you compose yourself while waiting?
True confidence is consistent. It shows up in how you treat everyone you meet, not just the hiring manager.
The best interview preparation is not only about rehearsing answers. It’s about thinking through the first impression you will make.
So prepare your examples. Know your numbers. Research the business. But remember the interview will have begun before you sit down to answer the first question.
