Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Impression management
and meeting others
for the first timeAt a recent workshop for high school teachers, I gave a seminar on mentoring programs for students as they prepare to enter the job market. Based on suggestions from human resources managers in Hawaii, I recommended teachers help students develop an enthusiastic, positive interviewing style.
Often, hiring officials in Hawaii complain that local job candidates answer questions with monosyllabic answers, do not display enthusiasm, and have difficulties talking about their job qualifications. I recommended that teachers offer practice sessions for students so that they can work on positive self- presentations and expansive descriptions of their abilities and experience.
One teacher commented that she suggested this to students but was met with a great deal of resistance. Students complain that this recommended interview style is superficial and shallow. They don't use this style when interacting with family members and friends, and they feel that they are being phony if they develop this style for job interviews.
My response began with areas of agreement. If superficial refers to "the obvious or apparent that is close to the surface," then I agree that this describes the interaction style being recommended. People's interaction styles are part of impression management. People interact with others. If they are concerned about impression management, this means that they want the others to leave the interaction with certain conclusions. After an interview, the conclusion is hopefully that the job candidate will be a good employee and should be offered a position.
The opposite of superficial is deep, meaningful, and substantial. People have deep and substantial relations with a small number of people: parents, other family members and long term friends. But in the world of work, most people move far beyond this small number and must interact with hundreds of others. My recommendation is that people develop a style that is appropriate for the large numbers of people who are not family members and long-time friends.
A friendly, open, and enthusiastic style is very useful when meeting others for the first time. Many jobs in Hawaii are based on tourism. Tourists become customers in various hotels, travel agencies and stores. Many other jobs (such as telecommunications, real estate, financial services) require that people meet potential customers and communicate a positive attitude concerning themselves and their companies. Interestingly, locals enjoy being the recipients of this style and make decisions concerning use of their consumer dollar based on its presence or absence. When hiring officials interview candidates, they are looking for employees who will represent the company well. Being able to meet others for the first time, putting them at their ease, and contributing to the chances of their becoming repeat customers are very important social skills. Some call the skills "superficial." I prefer to call them part of good impression management.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Special attention will be given to miscommunications caused by cultural differences. Each column will start with a short example of such confusion. Possible explanations will be offered to encourage thought about these issues.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu