First Interview, Lasting Impression
A real-world example of Primacy effect in action
Context
A mid-size fintech startup needed to hire a senior backend engineer quickly to meet an upcoming product deadline. The hiring team scheduled five back-to-back interviews over a single afternoon to speed the process and intended to compare candidates afterward.
Situation
The first candidate was punctual, well-dressed, and opened with a concise story of a past achievement that matched the job description. The interview panel felt energized and agreed the candidate 'set the tone' for the rest of the sessions, then continued through four more technically strong candidates in the same afternoon.
The bias in action
Panel members found themselves repeatedly referencing the first candidate’s early examples when rating technical fit and cultural alignment, even when later candidates provided equally strong or more relevant evidence. Notes taken during later interviews were shorter and recorded fewer concrete details, partly because panelists felt they had already established a benchmark. During the debrief, comments about later candidates were framed relative to the first interviewee rather than on independent criteria—early attributes became the anchor for final scores. This focus on the initial impression overshadowed measurable differences in skill assessments that appeared later in the interviews.
Outcome
The hiring team extended an offer to the first candidate within two days based on aggregated interview scores and a strong gut feeling from the panel. Two months into the role, gaps in the new hire’s experience with distributed systems became apparent; the team realized a later candidate had more direct production experience relevant to the critical project. The company spent an extra four weeks and roughly 120 developer-hours to refactor portions of the architecture that the hire struggled to optimize.