During a job interview, it’s always good to come prepared with answers to common questions – but one expert believes that it might all come down to whether or not you accept a coffee or tea
The UK unemployment rate has increased to 4.4% in the three months leading up to November, up from 4.3% in the three months to October, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.
The number of employees on payrolls is also estimated to have fallen by 47,000 during December to 30.3 million – marking the largest decline since November 2020 and following a revised drop of 32,000 the previous month.
In an effort to assist individuals in returning to work, Jackie Racine, an employment coach at Resumesta, shared her top tips on how to improve your chances of acing a job interview and securing a position – and it all boils down to behavioural psychology.
“One of my best interview hacks is that if your interviewer or the staff of your interviewer ask if you would like water, coffee, or tea, always say yes,” Jackie advised in a TikTok video.
While this may seem like a minor gesture, Jackie elaborated that it could potentially work to your advantage and make the interviewer more inclined to like you.
“Now there’s actually some science behind this, and like behavioural science,” she clarified. “This kind of causes what is known as the Ben Franklin effect. This theory kind of suggests that when someone does a favour for you, they tend to like you more afterwards.
The psychological phenomenon is named after the American Founding Father, Benjamin Frenklin, after he wrote about the concept in his autobiography.
The phenomenon describes how doing a favour for someone can actually make us feel more positively towards that person. When we do a favour for someone, even if we initially had no strong feelings toward them, we tend to become more inclined to like and trust that person, The Decision Lab explained.
“So think about it this way, someone has to feel like they like you in order to do this favour for you, so it plays a little trick in their mind – ‘oh I’ve done something for this person, I do like them, I do have a positive perception of them’.”
She added: “This may seem really really small, but it’s like a weird little psychological hack that could definitely help you on your next interview.”
People flooded the comments section with their own experiences of unknowingly using the Benjamin Franklin effect, with many confirming its effectiveness.
“I conduct interviews and sometimes when people say no to our offers of snacks and drinks it makes them seem unsettled/nervous! Love this tips,” one user shared, with another person commented: “This is interesting, I interview people a lot and it always annoys me when people say no to having a drink, I find it really weird, why would you not want water if you’re talking for an hour? ? “
However, it doesn’t always go as planned, as one person revealed: “Once, I had a job interview at a coffee shop. After the interview, the interviewer bought me a coffee. However, I later spoke to someone else who got the job and they didn’t receive a coffee from him. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hired.”
