Q: I’ve heard that job interviewers size up applicants within the first seven seconds of meeting them. Is that true?

Dear Readers,

When top television executive and Republican strategist Roger Ailes was a lowly producer, he helped conduct the first interview with Charles Manson in thirteen years. Manson, a notorious mass murderer from the 1960s, had been given nine life sentences in a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane.

Ailes opens his book “You Are the Message” (Broadway Business, 1989), still a popular guide to communication, with the scene in which he and Manson meet for the first time and size each other up. Ailes claims that because he projected great confidence in the first few seconds, Manson backed down from his initial attempt to appear menacing and turned obsequious. “Research shows that we start to make up our minds about people within seven seconds of meeting them,” Ailes writes.

While others have cited similar findings, the time span varies slightly. You may have slightly more time to impress your interviewer: up to 30 seconds.

Why are first impressions so important? Because they are often face-to-face, they are vivid and they stick in one’s mind, making them hard to erase and replace.

When your initial encounter is face to face, you are judged more on your appearance and body language than your words. Being well groomed and conveying an upbeat, warm and confident attitude will help you make a good impression. If you are speaking over the phone, a positive and pleasant tone of voice also may trump what you have to say.

That doesn’t mean words do not count. If you can work the other person’s name into your first couple of sentences, that can increase receptivity to your message. Also key is demonstrating that you are a good listener. Pay close attention and then ask follow up questions, which signal that you are interested in what your interviewer has to say.

First impressions are not sure-fire assessments. People can be distracted by a candidate’s most obvious attribute, especially if it is sociability, and tend to overlook qualities that may be more difficult to detect, such as intelligence. They also may be affected by their own moods. According to some researchers, people in happier moods make more accurate snap judgments. Cultural differences can also get in the way of accurate interpretations. What is considered outgoing in one culture, for instance, may be considered reserved in another.

Keep that in mind if you don’t get a job or if you find yourself judging someone else harshly after just seven seconds.

WEB-BASED WORRIES

Q: When a job site asks you to copy and paste your résumé into a 1-inch opening, are people at that company able to see other documents on your c-drive?

Dear Readers,

Copying and pasting your résumé into a corporate Web site does not give the recipient access to anything else on your computer, says Joe Dukler of Computer Geeks in Milwaukee, Wis.

You should worry, however, about what happens to the information you do send. Don’t include a social security number on your résumé, Dukler says, and “make sure you are sending it to an actual, decent company.”

The reasons to be cautious are numerous. For one thing, internet-savvy thieves set up fake corporate names with fake job openings in order to solicit personal information in hopes of eventually stealing your identity. Once these thieves have your résumé in hand, “They may have someone sitting on the internet trying to find out more information about you,” says Dukler. Their goal: tapping into your credit card accounts and other financial assets.

Even going through a well-known online employment service carries risks. Monster.com’s Web site admits that the company “recently learned our database was illegally accessed and certain contact and account data were taken.”

The site also warns users that their e-mail addresses could be used to target “phishing” e-mails asking people to confirm their usernames and passwords.

If someone you have never heard of contacts you with a job offer and asks for personal information, do not fall victim to what quite possibly is a scam targeting job hunters. If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.

And you thought your only problem was finding another job!