*This is fourth in a series of posts regarding interview preparation and job seeking tips for recent graduate. Be sure to check out our first post, Dressing and Preparing for an Interview, our second post, Best Sites to Locate Jobs, and our third post, Make your Resume Count.
If you received an online degree it is very easy to forget how much a first impression matters. Just because you were able to do your assignments in the comfort of your own home doesn’t change the fact that your first day at a new job is whole other story. The dreaded first impression. How do you make it a good one? How do you rise above all of the other business length skirts and power suits in a building full of strangers?
Making a Positive Impression
Easy. It really is.
First- Be on time! If you’re late on your very first day, you may as well not bother showing up. It tells your employer that you just couldn’t be bothered and is usually a deal breaker no matter how great your resume is.
Secondly- Look the part. Remember when you went for the interview? How was everyone else dressed? Is this a formal office or a casual one? Close toed shoes, open toed shoes? Tie or no tie? You need to look professional. Yes, you might even need to pull out the iron and the board. Ladies, it doesn’t matter how nice you may think they are, keep the cleavage in check!
Thirdly- Smile. I know it sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed how many people forget this. These people- your new co workers- don’t know you so be friendly. They don’t need to know your whole life story, they just need to see you as approachable and open.
Lastly- Be confident but don’t try and dominate every conversation. Some new staff may see you as a threat so the last thing you need to help you fit in is to waltz in as though you know everything all of the time. There is a huge difference between confidence and arrogance.
Online schools may have prepared you to know your new job, but common sense will be what carries you through your first day. Calm yourself down, take a deep breath, and face that first impression knowing that you have what it takes to make it a good one.
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