First Impressions

It was said a long time before I was born that you only have twenty seconds to make an impression on someone; whether that is face to face or via a letter. Obviously this was before email and why handwriting was so important and why so many firms used graphology to assess candidate’s suitability.

Whilst the world has moved on to email as very few people actually write letters, let alone thank you notes at Christmas, this old adage hasn’t changed one bit. Those twenty seconds after you walk through the door for an interview or a bid meeting are so important. How you dress for them, how you present yourself, what you say and how your body language expresses itself.

So why do so many people get it wrong right from their first foray into the business world? Complacency? An I know better attitude? Or simply bad advice? I’d go so far as to suggest a combination of all three if our experiences over the last few weeks are anything to go by.

This year we believe that approximately 30% of all CV’s that pass across our desks have no contact details. In almost all cases the candidates have been told that they were advised to leave them off by firms that they have paid to write their CV’s. The concept of how to contact these candidates seems to have bypassed these firms as the emails rarely have contact details on them either.

Candidates who turn up for interviews having carried out none of their own research on the person or firm that they are about to meet; expecting instead to be able to wing it through the interview. They didn’t!

In the current economic climate there are high numbers of candidates chasing each position. Without preparation and getting the basics right from the start of the application process you simply won’t be able to make that first impression.

And first impressions count!