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How quickly interviewers decide if they'll hire you or not
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While it's important to prepare thoroughly for an interview, it may be even more important to make an enduring impression.

Recent research suggests that the majority of hiring managers tend to take a little more time to judge an applicant before reaching a final conclusion than many might think.

The study, conducted by researchers from Old Dominion University, Florida State University and Clemson University, analyzed more than 600 job interviews of 30 minutes or more with college and graduate students. Interestingly, only 4.9 percent of interviewers said they made quick decisions about an applicants suitability and reached a conclusion within the first minute.

Nearly 60 percent or more than half of hiring managers said they made their decisions within the first 15 minutes, about halfway through the scheduled interview time. Thats encouraging news for most job-seekers. While a good first impression is something to aim for, an early interview slip-up probably wont be a deal-breaker.

Typically, longer job interviews are believed to be better for the candidate and the company, according to Jacquelyn Smith of Business Insider, who said it's a bad sign if an interview ends abruptly.

For the applicant, more interview time means more chances to demonstrate abilities, competencies and more opportunity to prove why he or she is the right fit. Similarly, longer interviews give the interviewer chances to learn more information and get away from making decisions off of initial impressions.

Joe Weinlick, vice president of online career network Beyond, agrees. To him, long interviews also mean a hiring manager is strongly considering hiring the applicant.

When interviews run long, it means that they were so interested in what you had to say that they forgot their other priorities and wanted to talk longer, he said in an interview with Fast Company, although this may not always be the case.

The order in which a candidate is interviewed can also influence interview length. According to the study mentioned above, Being the fourth person interviewed seems to offer the best chance of having a substantive interview.

The research also found that interviewers who followed structured interview guidelines, asking each applicant identical questions and measuring each candidate against a consistent rubric, were more prone to take more time to make a decision.
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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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