4 Job search chances to make a good first impression

As if the job search wasn’t hard enough, did you realize you have 4 chances to make a good first impression.

Granted, you should really only get to make a first impression once, but unlike other things the job search is different (but I’m guessing you knew that already!)

It only takes between a nano-second and a few seconds for someone to have made up their mind about you.

And it;s never about the whole you, it’s based on whatever information they have at that precise moment.

However small it may be.

We do this so much ourselves, we hear a news article and immediately we decide if someone is good or bad person, if what they did was a good or bad thing.

And all we really know about that person is the little snippet we just got, and from it we’ve labelled that person for ever more.

The job search is no exception to this.

The folks we meet either networking or in the selection process itself will be making these first impressions all the time.

For example

1. Cover letter. - This maybe the very first thing the recruiter sees about you and uses to form that first impression – which is why if you include a cover letter is has to be a good one!

2. Resume - If you didn’t include a cover letter, or the recruiter ignored it, your resume creates that first impression.

3. Phone Screen – Having gotten past the paper based first impressions, this will be the first time they get to interact with you.

4. Face-to -face interview - Finally of you have the impression people will get of you when they meet you for the first time in person.

I guess if you had multiple rounds of interviews, there’d be even more time you’d be meeting people for the first time and making that first impression.

So as you see, you have to be ready for each one and bring your “A” game

 

Good hunting

Simon