Never Underestimate The Power of First Impressions

So, just how powerful are first impressions?

Just as you spend time honing and perfecting your resume and cover letter for the job you want; you must spend time honing and perfecting your personal presentation to make that first impression count. Your job application (CV and cover letter), being the perfect documents, will gain you an interview. However, it’s your personal presentation that will set the tone for that interview. But just how powerful are first impressions?

Well, you have approximately 7-17 seconds to make a first impression, this is according to the below infographic by David Keane, Davitt Corporate Partners.

When you capitalise on that time, you can give yourself a very strong advantage over your competitors. Equally, if your waste that time you have given an advantage to your competitors. There are no second chances to make “a first impression”!

Davitt Corporate Partners gathered data from over 2000 business leaders

David Keane, a corporate psychologist with Davitt Corporate Partners, a Dublin-based consultancy, created the infographic below to synopsise the data gathered from over 2000 business leaders. The information displays how these leaders gauge an interview candidate and what you should or should not do during the interview process. Some of the findings are quite surprising, for example “33% of the managers interviewed for this data said that they had made a decision as to whether they would hire a person within 90 seconds of meeting them”.

Check out the rest of their findings below, it makes a very interesting read;

Joe Robbins

(Director) BBS (Hons), MBPICS – Shannon Office

Joe Robbins is co-founder of CareerWise Recruitment. A graduate of the University of Limerick (Degree in Business Studies, 1985), Joe worked in the UK for five years where he specialised in materials management, production management and plant management for a number of companies.

He returned to Ireland in 1992 to become Operations Manager for a Cork-based start-up, FMC Automotive Division which was subsequently taken over by Snap-on Equipment. Joe managed the business re-location of this company to Shannon in 1997 before setting up CareerWise Recruitment in 1999.

He is a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Mid-West region, and a former Director and Vice President of the Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Joe is former Chairperson of the Sixmilebridge Camogie Club and current Chairperson of the Clare County Camogie Board.

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