First Impressions!

Cheeky Employee

First impressions are everything in some situations.  What if you make a terrible first impression and you don’t have the time to fix it?  That impression is gonna stick.  Those first seven seconds are critical, people take one look and sum up who you are by what you wear and how you present yourself.  It’s probably wise to put your best foot forward.

Fake it till you make it:

Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.  Carry yourself with confidence and let your body language be open and friendly.  BUT.  This advice has been given a thousand times and people are accustomed to the mask, they expect lies of how amazing you are and that your only mistakes are being too hardworking and all that BS.  To build trust you must be honest to a fault.  This will make people look up and hopefully build some trust as they can see the real you straight away, instead of the veneer everyone else tends to display.

Disagree to Agree:

People like themselves so they should also like people who are very similar to them, right?  Maybe not.  The enthusiastically nodding fan gets old really quickly.  Don’t be afraid to disagree, to point out issues.  A person who can give honest feedback in a gentle way is much more useful than the bobble-head that never disagrees. 

Adapt under pressure:

We need to talk about that handshake of yours.  When introducing yourself, it is the first contact you make with another person.  So should you be firm and show dominance or should you be gentle to show what a peace-loving person you are?  The truth is neither and both.  You should start somewhere in the middle with a reasonably firm grip and then quickly adapt to your partner.  I know, I know.  You are already trying to focus on remembering their names, but this is important.  Squeeze too hard and you may be seen as insecure or aggressive (funny how those two always go together).  If your hand is limp and flimsy, you might be deemed weak and submissive.  Adapt quickly to survive that first impression. 

First impressions are not everything, but they are a lot.  Comment below if you want to see another post on this topic.