The nature of every job is sensitive. Each and every aspect of a person affects different other aspects of the organization. For new workers and colleagues, it is obvious and general to form some perceptions at the first sight. The initial impression or snap judgments at your workplace can be turned into long term view that could also affect the direction of your career and the ultimate success at an organization or a company. If you make positive impressions, it’s good for you as well as the company, but if your behavior and attitude reflects any kind of negative response or behavior within the organization, it could spoil you and your career for a longer period of time.
Everybody feels that actual qualification of a person should matter, but research says that the first impression helps in shaping the professional competition for an individual. It is also observed that a person who perform well at the stage of “harmony building” during the time of their interview, are considered and rated higher on the evaluations for the professional capabilities whether they are qualified or not. If you have higher ratings, then there are chances of more follow up interviews and job offers. During your interview preparations, every person focuses on the tough questions, thorough responses and the professional stories.
Before you are given the chance to respond to the questions asked, the interviewer will have the eye on you and has already evaluated you potential whether you fit to the job and the company or not. First impression created on the moment you walk in to the door. Before stepping into the interview, it is important for the interviewee to present himself/herself in a proper way. Making good impression can help you in landing at job. Under mentioned are certain steps that need to be followed by a person:
1. Dress for the Job You Want – It is important for the person to dress professionally in their interview especially when he/she is making any important presentation or meeting an important client or have a launch with the CEO and vice-president of the company. You need to make sure that your clothes are not too tight or too revealing. If you are confused for your attire whether or not you have to wear it, never ask anybody to confirm your choice. Just immediately change your fit; otherwise your attire will lose your confidence. Also, avoid wearing lots of jewelry, aftershave lotion or perfume, as it could create negative impact on the person who is taking interview.
Dress code for every person and company varies. Therefore, determining the exact clothing can be tricky. In different settings of an office, most of the people recommend to wear a suit. But in other settings, the dress depends on the position offered by the company. A research has been conducted which shows that it is important to decide what to wear and learn toward classic rather than trendy patterns and colors.
2. Be punctual – It is important to take care of the time for your arrival at the interview. Employer feels that you are unreliable and unattentive to details, if an individual is late for the interview. But if a person reaches too early, it also creates bad impression. If you are arriving 30 minutes early or before your scheduled session then the interviewer or the hiring manager could feel rushed if you are waiting at the reception area. Demonstration of preparation makes your employer feel that there nothing better. For reaching on the right timing, it is important to visit the interview location and determine the travel time in advance before the actual meeting day.
3. Enter a Room Confidently – For the creative impression, your entrance is considered as the key based on the professional development and career. It is recommended to keep your head up, acknowledging reception area or room and give smile and say hello while entering an interview room.
4. Offer a Firm Handshake – There are certain gestures which help in the creation of first impression. You can shake your hands at the first meet with a firm grip. The grip should not be too tight so that it can demonstrate confidence in a person. For greeting human resource representatives, senior-level managers, hiring managers and potential colleagues, it is important to extend your hand. If a person is not standing, stand up immediately when you enter the room of an interview prior to shaking hands.
5. Be Kind to Everyone – At the workplace, it is important to show kindness with each and every person you meet. Impression should be made in all encounters or sectors. It should not only for the sake of kindness but also for the front lines so that the perceptions could be shared by hiring more decision makers. You need to be gracious for each and every person you are meeting at the workplace that could include security officers, executive assistants, and parking lot attendants, hiring managers or potential co-workers.
6. Act Interested – When someone meets you, it is important to look excited, as you should behave and act like you are very much interested for the job and the person. With this activity, you can get engaged to the interviewers. Also, you can learn more about the company and the needs of the organization by determining whether you are capable to pursue the specific position or not.
7. Don't Open a Conversation with Careless Remarks – Most of the interviews are sensitive and insulting and some are those with which a person regrets. Never start your conversation too casual and never comments about the personal appearances, controversial topics, religion or politics. This might harm the sentiments of a person and creates bad impression. If some person has made the unkind comment for you, it is important to be gracious and plan your opening remarks.
8. Talk more about yourself and the company – An interviewee should always have the knowledge about the company so that he/she could start the conversation with the topic based on the company itself along with responding to the common questions of the interview and your own questions. Never seem arrogant and behave that you knows each and everything about the company. But it is important to read about the website of the organization so that you can get to know about the relevant news and can talk intelligently about the company.
You can also perform practice for answering typical questions along with preparing stories that could be based on the recent accomplishment particularly that says about how can perfectly fit to the needs and requirements of the company. If you have questions to ask to the interviewer, make a list and put together all of them.
9. Do a Pre-Interview Body Check – Apart from your makeup and appearance, it is important to take stock of yourself. For the prevention of embarrassment and distraction, an individual can follow three steps that include removal of loose change from the pockets, turning off from your cell phone and toss your cup of coffee and glass of water.
10. Check Your Smile – Smile is considered as the key for the success in the interview or creating impression at a person. Always smile nicely especially when you are dealing some major issues. On the day of your interview, brush your teeth properly and also avoid eating something before your meeting.
11. Carry a Portfolio – Your portfolio at the job place reflects your personality, knowledge and skills. Therefore, an interviewee needs to bring hard copies of their resume, references and various different job search materials to the interview.
12. Know the Answers – Every interview questions include a single question, “Why you are here or why you wanted to join the company?” For a job interview, the response of an interviewee should be more substantial and insightful. Therefore, you need to tell an interviewer that why you are excited to join this particular organization. Also, it is important to explain briefly that how your expertise could contribute to the success of the company.
13. Know little about your interviewer – To create the impression on the interviewer, it is important to know something about the person who is taking your interview especially his/her name by pronouncing it rightly in the first time only. This technique is useful or helpful if you are meeting someone that has an unusual name or have the difficulty in retaining any kind of information related to them. Therefore, you need to research the titles and the names of an employer or the person you are meeting for the first time.
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