The 10-Minute Window That Decides Most Job Interviews

You think interviews are about the full hour.
They’re not.

The decision is usually made in the first ten minutes.

By the time you’ve finished your opening story, most hiring managers have already decided whether you’re a “yes”, a “maybe”, or a “no.” The rest of the conversation just confirms the judgement they’ve already made.

If you’ve ever walked out of an interview thinking you nailed it, only to get a rejection, there’s a good chance you lost them before the real questions even began.

Here’s what’s really happening in those first ten minutes — and how to make them count.

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The Psychology of the First Impression

Every interview starts with an invisible process: the human brain deciding whether to trust you.

Within seconds of meeting you — before you’ve even finished your first sentence — the interviewer’s brain is making dozens of snap judgements about your confidence, warmth, and credibility.

They’re not trying to be unfair. It’s instinct. People are wired to make quick assessments. We can’t help it.

In recruitment, this is even more amplified because hiring managers have sat through hundreds of interviews. They’ve built their own mental shortcuts for spotting what “good” looks like, and once they’ve made that judgement, it takes a lot to undo it.