Spoken attributions and candidate success in graduate recruitment interviews

Two predictions about candidates' spoken attributions during 35 graduate recruitment interviews were tested. First, that spoken attributions are a common and frequent component of candidate discourse in the selection interview. Second, that those candidates rated by interviewers as more successful make systematically different attributions for previous behaviour and outcomes than candidates who are rated by interviewers as being less successful. In total 1967 attributions were extracted from interview transcripts and then coded using the Leeds Attributional Coding System (LACS). Both predictions were supported. In particular, successful candidates made relatively more personal and stable attributions when explaining previous negative events than less successful candidates. These findings are discussed with reference to a self‐presentational model where candidate spoken attributions act as moderators of interviewers' expectations regarding the candidate's likely behaviour in future work situations.