Many interviewers must handle the competing demands of assessment and recruitment when conducting interviews. Both interviewers and applicants in a college placement setting provided their perceptions of each other and the interview process. The present study explored possible mediators and moderators of the relationship of interviewers' preinterview impressions of applicants to their postinterview impressions of the same applicants, as well as the effects on recruiting success. Consistent with a process model of the interview (Dipboye, 1982), preinterview impressions were positively related to postinterview impressions. Several other predictions were not supported, however, and suggestions are made for modifications in the process model and directions for future research. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved