Don’t Kill a Good First Impression
Putting Your Best Foot Forward in Today’s Job Market
In today’s market, job seekers need to do whatever they can to grab the interviewer’s attention with a good first impression. Your first impression determines who you are in the eyes of the interviewer, and you typically have only three seconds to make this first impression. Within those first three seconds, a potential employer will evaluate your visual résumé.
Your appearance will be appraised from head to toe. Your demeanor and mannerisms, along with your body language, will be evaluated. Forming a first impression happens on a subconscious level, making it that much more critical that you know what you are conveying to the interviewer.
I have a client who works for one of the largest law firms in state. In talking to them about frustrations in the workplace, the issue that came up time and time again was appearance, not only of their employees, but those who were being interviewed. One HR professional told me, “We didn’t hire one woman because she didn’t wear hose in the interview. Another guy wasn’t hired because he was wearing a flashy tie.”
The takeaway here: What you wear is serious business.
In talking with another corporate client who is a hiring manager for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, she echoed the same sentiment: “We have reps who are very qualified, but we can’t promote them or give them big accounts because, quite frankly, they would embarrass the company. We can’t trust that they would wear appropriate attire when meeting with doctor groups and hospitals.”
So, what can you do to ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward? First, realize that the first impression is made up of several elements:
Your Body Language
- Your smile and facial expressions
- Your posture
- Your handshake
Think about your body language before you walk in the front door of the company where you are interviewing. Make sure you keep those nervous habits in the car, things like shaking your leg, picking at your fingernails and flipping your hair.
Believe it or not, your posture is important, so when you mother told you to “sit up straight,” she was right! Slouching makes you appear uninterested. When being interviewed, lean in; be completely engaged in the conversation.
Have you ever shaken someone’s hand and felt like you just shook a wet noodle? Practice your hand shake. A firm handshake shows you are a professional and that you mean business.
Your Visual Language
- Your attire
- Your accessories such as shoes, handbag, briefcase and jewelry
- Your grooming
Pay attention to where you are interviewing. If you are interviewing in a conservative industry, keep the creative approach to your style at home. In choosing your interview outfit, keep in mind conservative is always better. This means a suit is always the best choice (or a jacket with pants or a skirt).
Consider what accessories you wear to an interview. Are they distracting? This goes for fingernails, too. Ladies, tone down those crazy 3" bright red fingernails for an interview. You want the interviewer to pay attention to what you’re saying; you do not want her to be focused on your crazy outfit or wild-colored fingernails.
Your Business Approach and Personality
- Does your demeanor match the corporate personality of the company?
- Does your attitude match the corporation?
- Does your business philosophy seem to match that of the company?
Have you ever walked into a store, a company, or on to an airplane and immediately noticed an attitude? That is the personality of the organization. Find out if your personality matches with that of the company. Think of the interview process as you interviewing the company just as much as them interviewing you.
DOA: Sure Ways to Kill a Good First Impression
There are certain things that can kill your chances right out of the gate. If you don’t want to be dead on arrival, try avoiding these common pitfalls.
Distractive Clothing
- This includes anything low cut or that shows too much skin.
- Wearing poor fitting attire such as items that are too tight or too loose.
- VPL: visible panty lines.
- Wearing anything see through. This includes white shirts and blouses.
- Dirty, messy or wrinkled attire. Make sure there are no stains on your interview outfit.
- Visible wear such as missing buttons.
- Layers of jewelry like rings on every finger and bracelets that jingle when you move your hands.
Other First Impression Killers
- Bad Breath! This includes coffee breath, so be sure to pop a mint and have some water before you go into the interview.
- Being late for the interview appointment.
- Poor grammar and using words incorrectly.
- Poorly manicured hands.
