Original Article When Does Self-Promotion Work? The Influence of Temporal Distance on Interviewer Evaluations Karin Proost, 1,2,3 Filip Germeys, 1,2 and Bert Schreurs 4 1 Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussels, Belgium, 2 University of Leuven, Belgium, 3 Open University of The Netherlands, 4 Maastricht University – School of Business and Economics, Maastricht, The Netherlands Abstract. Based on temporal construal theory, this study examined how temporal distance (i.e., hiring someone for the near vs. distant future) influences the effectiveness of different types of self-promotion, applied by a fictive applicant in a personnel selection interview. Findings of two experiments were in line with our predictions that promoting oneself in a direct way (i.e., referring to one’s own achievements) or in concrete terms (i.e., focusing on situation-specific behaviors) is more successful when applying for immediate entry whereas promoting oneself in an indirect way (i.e., emphasizing connections with others) or in abstract terms (i.e., focusing on traits) is more successful when applying for a vacancy to be filled in the distant future. Keywords: self-promotion, impression management, construal level theory, personnel selection, interviewer evaluations Temporal construal theory (TCT) states that temporal dis- tance from an object changes the way we mentally construe this object. When evaluating an object in a proximal time perspective, we mainly rely on concrete information; when evaluating an object in the distant time perspective, we give more weight to abstract information (Trope & Liberman, 2000, 2003). Support for TCT has been found in several domains (e.g., consumer behavior, see Malkoc, Zauberman, & Ulu, 2005; human decision-making, see Liberman & Trope, 1998). However, the way in which a recruiter men- tally construes and evaluates applicants as a function of tem- poral distance remains unexplored. Nonetheless, the influence of the time frame on evaluations and decision- making in personnel selection could represent an important, hitherto overlooked, bias in personnel decision-making. When applying for a job vacancy, applicants tend to use impression management (IM) tactics in order to enhance their chances of being hired (Stevens & Kristof, 1995). These tactics, and especially self-promotion, have been found to be successful in influencing the selection decision (Kacmar & Carlson, 1999; Kristof-Brown, Barrick, & Franke, 2002; Proost, Schreurs, De Witte, & Derous, 2010). Several studies, however, warn against too much optimism regarding the use of IM, as the effects of IM are reduced in well-structured interviews (Ellis, West, Ryan, & DeShon, 2002), in long interviews (Tsai, Chen, & Chiu, 2005), and when applying for a job which requires less social contact (Tsai et al., 2005). In this study, we argue that the effects of IM may also depend on the time interval between interviewing and commencement of employment (i.e., the selection time frame). Whereas some vacancies need to be filled urgently (e.g., when a teacher gets sick), other vacancies are to be filled only in the long term (e.g., in order to respond to a planned reorganization). Based on TCT, we suggest that the effec- tiveness of different types of self-promotion may depend on the selection time frame. Specifically, more abstract types of self-promotion may be more effective in a distant time frame. More concrete types of self-promotion may be more effective in a proximal time frame. Temporal Construal Theory Temporal construal theory (Trope & Liberman, 2000) explains how temporal distance from future objects or events influences the level of abstractedness of our thinking about these objects or events. Removing objects in time from one’s direct experience increases reliance on more schematic and abstract representations (i.e., high-level construals) and decreases reliance on more detailed and con- crete representations (i.e., low-level construals). High-level construals involve central features of an object and are more prototypical than concrete representations (Fiske & Taylor, 1991). Irrelevant details are omitted, focusing more on the goal behind the object or event (e.g., communication device instead of cellular phone). TCT suggests that, as temporal distance from the object increases, the value of high-level information increases while the value of low-level informa- tion decreases (Liberman & Trope, 1998). Ó 2012 Hogrefe Publishing Journal of Personnel Psychology 2012; Vol. 11(3):109–117 DOI: 10.1027/1866-5888/a000062