I received this question from the Feb 2 blog on the Big Five --

Good evening. I just read your latest blog article and it sparked a question regarding interviews. In this article and the "Back to the Big Five Theory of Personality" article (Feb 2, 2011) you state that projecting too much confidence will be perceived as a negative.

However, is it not a requirement that the interviewee project confidence in their ability be successful in this position? If so, how does one incorporate expressions of self-awareness into responses so as to not overwhelm an audience?

This is a great question and really is best answered simply by stating, “it all depends” and/or “it is a delicate balance.” While that may not seem like a satisfactory answer, the reality is that how one projects their style and personality requires balance - you must be aware of how you are being perceived. And to be sure, to one person, your behavior may seem perfectly confident while to another that same behavior appears over confident and perhaps arrogant. The answer – you must develop a keen skill of reading others and interpreting their interpretations of you.

It is also important to note that the over emphasis of a particular personality style under pressure or conditions of novelty is more reflective of a deeper on-going analysis of personality. And in that case, it is true that the very confident person may often become over confident under conditions of stress or novelty.

Read more about this by an internet search on “managerial derailment” or “overuse of personality styles.”