Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. At all…

Most research (and general experience) states that we make our initial impression of someone from the first 5-7 seconds, and is likely to happen when you meet your interviewer. So you’d better make them count.

This isn’t as harsh as it seems. The interviewer has an extremely difficult task in assessing your ability and personality as an organisational fit in an extremely limited space of time. In this case it’s only natural that they’re going to use every indicator they can, which will include your appearance and dress code. They’re not looking for dashing good looks and a winning smile (couldn’t hurt, though) just a generally well-kept and groomed appearance.

First impressions provide a problem and an opportunity for candidates. On the one hand, you can potentially put yourself at a severe disadvantage by being unaware of these issues, and on the other by making a strong first impression you can put yourself in a position where your prospective employer is immediately thinking “This is the person for us”.

Fortunately, turning yourself into the latter is simple enough. These steps will give you a helping hand towards making those first 5 seconds count:

• Dress sense:

You should be neat, well dressed and appropriately styled for the interview. It’s not uncommon to ask what the dress code is for the meeting. In most cases you can safely assume business-wear. People will form their initial opinion of you from the way you dress, so make sure your clothes are clean, sharp and appropriate for the occasion. No need to go to great expense, you can dress smartly at a budget if you have a look around.

• Hygiene:

Personal hygiene is a must for any interview situation. Remember, the person that interviews you will either work with you, or report to people that do. If there is a hygiene issue it is unlikely they will recommend you for further progression. You don’t want to be ‘that funny smell in the corner’…

• Eye Contact:

Solid eye contact is a must for any occasion, whether personal or professional. Most importantly in the initial few seconds is to make strong (though not overly intense) eye contact with your interviewer. If your interviewer notices difficulty with making eye contact it will potentially put you at a major disadvantage. Put technically, it makes you look a bit shifty…

• Handshake:

As you meet your interviewer the initial step is to stand (if you are seated) and shake hands. A good handshake will tell a lot about a person, and coupled with good eye contact and a warm smile this can immediately put them in a position where they feel they are going to like you.

These may seem simple enough (and they are), however your interviewer is looking for any signals they can as to whether or not you’re a fit for the position, both personally and professionally. There’s no secret code and you’re unlikely to be immediately discounted for having a tie that’s a little bit skewed or something trivial like that.

Think of this more as a general, holistic approach. Use these simple tips to allow you to demonstrate right off the bat that you’re the right person for the job.

The post Interview Preparation: Looking your best for an Interview (The first 5 seconds) appeared first on Career Consultants.

Before you know it you’ll be surfing the professional networks, establishing connections and creating exciting opportunities for yourself and your business.

But there’s a slight problem. You don’t have a profile.

Building a profile is the first step towards starting your LinkedIn use, however for many it can be a tripping point. A good profile can say a lot about you, give people a snapshot of your professional credentials, and encourage them to engage with you on a professional level. A bad profile can leave people wondering who you are, what you do, and why you’re trying to connect. This guide will take you step by step through the main points from building your first profile.

Get a picture!

Frequently this can be a tricky topic for users. Either they don’t have a suitable picture or they’re not sure they want a picture of themselves up on the internet. A profile picture is typically a necessity, as not being able to put a face to the name can be quite disconcerting. The type of picture is important but not difficult, it should simply be a nice respectable picture of you, smiling if possible.

What’s a Summary?

A summary is a basic rundown of your current status, previous experience, and areas of speciality. LinkedIn has tonnes of examples of these, and if you’re not sure just start randomly checking pages to get a feel for it. Always write in the 3^rd person and be as economic with your phrasing as possible. People will usually not read a long summary so keep it to a few sentences at absolute maximum.

Work Experience

This can be a tough area to fill out (despite seeming relatively straightforward) as most are unsure of stating too much or too little information. Generally the key to this is moderation. Include the major working points of your career, the major duties in each job (the important ones, not the one where you were on tea rotation) and then leave it at that. If you’re job was more than a few years ago you don’t need to go in to massive detail about it.

Keywords

This may seem to be a minor part of the profile, but may well in fact be the most important (or at least, the most critical not to have) aspect of the process. The “Skills & Expertise” section allows you to list the areas you’re particularly good or interested in. This is not just for your profile, this will also allow keyword searches to rank your profile higher. Essentially, when people are looking for someone with, say, social media marketing skills, you can rise higher in that ranking by having it as one of your skills. This will ensure that when you want to be found, you will be.

There are a number of other elements involved in creating an online profile, however these are best discovered yourself, as you scan other profiles to see what you think works and what doesn’t and become more familiar with LinkedIn. Typically you should only place as much information online as you’d be happy to discuss with a complete stranger, however in this case you will most likely find that if you give a little, you’ll get a lot back.

The post How to Build your LinkedIn Profile appeared first on Career Consultants.