Plan Your Appearance to Make a Great First Impression

Your personal appearance is a critical component of that all-important first impression when you walk into the room for your interview. 

Some people don't think about what they're going to wear until the morning of the interview. Then they scramble to find something that's appropriate, clean, and doesn’t look like it’s been slept in.

Imagine putting on that rarely used suit an hour before your interview and discovering that it no longer fits!

Plan your outfit in advance, try it on to make sure it fits well, and get it cleaned and pressed if 

necessary.

When deciding what to wear, think "conservative business attire." Even if you are interviewing for a field job in which you'll wear jeans and steel-toed boots, those clothes are not appropriate for the interview. It's always better to dress "up" than to dress "down."

The key is to look professional.

Here are some preparation tips:

• Think about your hair in advance and make sure it's as ready for the interview as your clothes. Do you need a haircut or touch-up on the color? This goes for mustaches and beards, too.

• How are your teeth? If they’re not pearly white, consider using one of the many teeth-whitening products on the market today. Dingy teeth really can make a negative impression, so don’t ignore this.

• Freshen your breath, especially if it's been a while (or if you've eaten or smoked) since brushing your teeth. Don't go into the interview chewing gum.

• Do not plan to wear perfume or cologne. Having no noticeable scent is better than turning your interviewer off by wearing too much perfume/cologne (or wearing a scent that unpleasantly reminds an interviewer of an ex-spouse). And many people are allergic to ingredients in perfumes and colognes. It's safest to wear no scent at all.

• Women, if you decide on a dress or skirt, make sure it's not too sh ort. Be conservative. By the way, pantsuits are perfectly acceptable these days if they meet all the other criteria.

• Don’t forget to consider your shoes. Chose a pair that is stylish, but conservative and comfortable. (Spike heels are not a good idea.) Make sure they're clean and/or shined.

Remember, your goal is to look professional and conservative. This applies to makeup, nail polish, jewelry, body piercings, tattoos, etc.

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Succeeding with Panel Interviews

These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers.

A "team approach" to finding the best candidate can be beneficial for the employer. Each member brings a different set of skills, experience and judgment to the team, and can point out pros (and cons) about a candidate that the other interviewers might miss. 

Panel interviews can also be beneficial for the job seekers.

In a one-on-one interview you only have one shot at making the best impression. With a team doing the interviewing, your odds are increased.

Say for example that Interviewer No. 1 had a bad experience with your past employer and unconsciously (or consciously) holds that against you, even though you had nothing to do with what happened. Interviewers No. 2, 3, and 4 have no such prejudices and so could sway the vote in your favor. 

While panel interviews often seem more intimidating than one-on-one interviews, here are some steps you can take to ease your stress and ensure a better outcome.

1. Relax. Remember that being faced by a panel of strangers (versus one) is better for you.

2. Smile. Everyone in the room will smile back and you'll all get off to a great start.

3. Greet each interviewer individually. Shake hands with each person. Repeat their names as you are introduced (everyone likes to hear their own name, and it will help you to remember them).

4. Include everyone when answering questions. Face and make eye contact with the person who asks the question, but then extend your eye contact to everyone in the room. You're speaking to all of them, not just the person who asked the question.

5. Get their cards. Before leaving, get a business card from each person in the room. These will come in handy when it's time to send your thank-you notes. (If they don't have cards, ask for their names again if you don't remember them; jot them down. You can contact the HR person or receptionist later to get their email or mailing address.)

6. Send individual thank-you notes. Immediately send a thank-you note to each member of the interview panel, but don't make the notes identical. Make it more personal by pointing out something that person said or asked. For example, "When you asked me about my marketing experience, I forgot to mention that in addition to my three years as a marketing representative at ABC company, I also participated on several marketing focus groups while working at XYZ company." 

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How to be an A-List Employee or Candidate

Hopefully, we all understand the importance of "marketing" ourselves in our careers - selling our skills, our rxperience, our education, our accreditation, and our professional value to our current and future employers.

What we often forget, however, is the importance of the "qualities" or "attributes" that signal a Top Performer.

In fact, in survey after survey asking managers and leaders what they look for in model employees, ATTRIBUTES are frequently the first mentioned - not skills, not education, not certification, but rather personal attributes and qualities that separate Top Performers from the pack.

Throughout all of these surveys, while many unique features appear, common themes keep coming to the surface. Below, you will find the Top 5 qualities that appear again and again. If you can demonstrate these qualities on the job, highlight them come promotion time, and communicate them in an interview, then you will definitely identify yourself as a Top Performer, separate yourself from the competition, and advance your career.

1. Self-Motivated/Lifelong Learner

Being self motivated refers not only to getting the job done without being told, but more importantly it means taking responsibility for doing whatever is necessary to get the job done, and making certain that you have the tools to get the job done.

In other words, employers are looking for people with a "passion" for self-improvement; people who will manage their own personal and professional development, learn aggressively, and take the initiative to get the expertise required to add more value to the company. Hiring managers very often look to the Education section of a résumé to see if candidates have continued learning and growing as part of their career.

So, take control of your professional development and growth.

2. Interpersonal Skills

Most people will agree that good interpersonal skills are important, but what do we really mean by it? Ultimately, it boils down to this: "getting along." Getting along with others, whether customers or colleagues, is at the heart of fitting in with the culture of a company, being a valuable part of your team, and being successful.

Only in rare cases will a company reward the unpopular, unfriendly "lone wolf" who nevertheless delivers results - it may pay off short term, but in the long term, people just get tired of putting up with it, especially if it infects team performance.

So, get along with those you work with, those you work for, and those you want to work for. "Fitting in" and "getting along" may not be in your performance targets, but it will pay off big time!

3. Think Strategically

Employers want people who not only focus on their areas of expertise, but who also see where and how it fits in with the big picture.

Strategic thinkers are always looking to find out where the organization needs or wants to go next, and then they position themselves to help the organization get there.

In other words, in addition to doing your assigned job, try to see your organization (or your division or department) as your customer, and then seek to meet that customer's needs.

The better you understand your company's strategy, and the more you can contribute to its value, the better job you can do in communicating YOUR value.

Communicating your value is ideally a matter of positioning your skills, experience, and knowledge in the context of what's important to the company - if you continue to think strategically and contribute strategically, you will start to stand out as someone who can really make a difference.

4. Inquisitive/Champion Innovation

Top performers are always looking for a better way to do things, and top employers are always looking for these people.

You don't necessarily have to be the person to build the better mousetrap, but if you keep an open mind, question the status quo, and encourage innovation and out-of-the-box thinking from those around you, you may be the one who recognizes the NEED for the better mousetrap.

So, be inquisitive and ask questions both of yourself and what you see around you. Whether you have the power to influence your organization or just your own desktop, if you can help it stay on the cutting edge, you'll stand out as a Top P erformer.

5. Flexible/Adaptable/Open to Change

This is not a new concept, but it often remains the difference between those that move ahead and those that stay behind. Business is about change - those who embrace it will thrive, and those who resist it will not. It's that simple.

However, embracing or rejecting change really only differentiates the good performers from the poor performers.

If you want to take it to the next level, if you want to be the Top Performer among the good performers, you also need to be able to ANTICIPATE change.

This is especially true for managers and leaders, but still applies to everyone else. Just as I spoke of above with "encouraging innovation," the ability to anticipate change - seeing it coming and sometimes even going out after it - keeps companies on the leading edge, and separates the leaders from the followers.

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Your Most Important Asset

When you're looking to get hired or get promoted, what do you think is your most important asset? Your experience? Knowledge? Skill? Talent?  While all of those are advantages that will help you achieve your goals, there's one thing that's more important than all of them combined.  Your attitude!  I attended a board meeting recently. It should've been spelled "bored." Just about everyone's eyes were glazed over or nearly closed with fatigue as one dull presentation after another was foisted upon the board members, staff and audience.

Then something changed.

Someone who had never spoken at a board meeting before got up, went to the lectern, fired up her PowerPoint presentation, and totally blew everyone away!

People perked up in their seats and listened attentively to her every word.

When she was done, people clapped! (If you've ever attended a public agency board meeting before, you'll know how remarkable that is!) The board president said, "I've seen hundreds of presentations. This is the first time I've ever seen one that elicited applause!"

Was this presenter more experienced, more knowledgeable, more skilled or more talented than all the others? Absolutely not. As a fairly new employee, she was actually inferior in all of those areas.

What made the difference? Her attitude.

She was enthusiastic, positive, upbeat, energetic and truly excited about what she was talking about!

It wasn't the quality of her presentation that impressed people, it was how she made them feel. Her enthusiasm was contagious, so the audience greatly enjoyed listening to facts and figures that, presented by someone without her energetic attitude, would've bored them to tears.

Everyone in that room will remember and think very highly of her--not the more experienced, knowledgeable, skilled or talented presenters--because of her attitude.

You know why companies conduct time-consuming, labor-intensive job interviews instead of simply hiring people based on the qualifications presented in their resumes? One of the reasons is to find someone they'll enjoy working with.

This can only be conveyed in person, by your attitude.

Think of your own co-workers. Who do you enjoy working with? The smart guy who has all the answers but acts superior? The woman who has the most experience but whines or complains whenever she's asked to do something in a new way?

Or the person who always smiles, listens to you, stays positive, friendly and supportive no matter what? 

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