Fairness of impression management in employment interviews: A cross-country study of the role of equity and machiavellianism

This study focused on the use of Impression Management (IM) in employment interviews from the perspective of interviewees and investigated possible antecedents of their perceptions regarding what is fair interviewee IM. Its rationale was largely based on the tenets of equity theory (Adams, 1963; 1965). Data from 163 potential interviewees (college students) approached in the UK and Portugal showed that, as expected, they tended to perceive as fair interviewee IM those IM tactics they also saw as fair for interviewers to use. Gender did not predict IM fairness perceptions, but IM use by the organization, Machiavellianism and Country did. Results regarding the influence of experience of job interviews were inconclusive. Finally, based on these findings, suggestions are made for further research and for the education of both interviewees and interviewers regarding behavior in the employment interview.