In my last article I talked about the importance of first impressions and I got some interesting feedback. I decided to then go and do my own research to see if there was still any truth in it.

Ever wondered why you didn’t get that job? Perhaps you were told that someone came along with more experience than you or maybe you didn’t get any feedback at all. The truth is out. In recent research with leading I.T Recruitment agencies in the UK we found that when asked if they thought their clients gave them the truthful answer as to why candidates didn’t get the job and they answered 99% no.

Recruiters rated ‘Personal Presentation’ (appearance, confidence, communication skills) as the second most popular reason for unsuccessful interviewees but rarely do we get that feedback do we? It takes someone very brave who isn’t in fear of political correctness to be honest with you. Take being PC out of it, we don’t typically find giving personal feedback comfortable, it’s a bit like telling someone at a party that they have spinach in their teeth. We would rather walk away.

Why? Because we don’t like to judge do we? Well actually we do and it is the natural instinct we were born with, to make quick, snap decisions based on first impressions. Psychologists say this reflex thought process comes from the days of cavemen, when we had to make quick decisions coming out of caves as to whether we were going to get eaten or not by woolly mammoths. Using all of our senses, to literally feel, taste and smell danger.

Ok so this instinct has become less over time because there aren’t any mammoths but also because we are taught to keep an open mind and not to trust our first impressions.   However if we are really being honest we would say that actually we are a good judge of character and those first impressions are generally right.

So how do we control our first impressions and ensure we get assessed on our experience not whether our face fits?

Clue: The answer lies not in what we say, but how we say it.

Want to know more?

Attend Freelance Training’s Launch Party on the 16/7 at the Werks in Hove where we will be covering some tips on how to manage your personal impact so if you haven’t, sign up today.

Image by Jim Frazier

To find more about how to sell YOU, come along to our next workshop Selling YOU workshop.

Selling YOU – Training Workshop