INITIAL MINUTES OF JOB INTERVIEW ARE CRITICAL.

• Position: Brief Article

The old adage that "first impressions count" seems to hold true in job interviews. A survey developed by Accountemps, a temporary staffing service for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals, reveals that it takes a mere 16 minutes on average for executives to determine whether a candidate may be a good match for a position.

"Applicants must be able to present a summary of their qualifications in a concise, enthusiastic, and poised manner, or they may lose their relatively short window of opportunity," warns Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. "During the initial minutes of an interview, managers will be assessing whether candidates should move to the next step in their hiring...