Making an impression: That first 30 seconds can last a lifetime!

A Bad Example

Let me tell you about an experience that I had earlier this week.  Then let me tell me about the lessons from this experience that could be applied to your next job interview.

I stop almost every morning at to buy coffee at a Hess station in Tampa.  Earlier this week, I made my usual stop at around 6:45 AM.  As I entered the store,I walked in behind a 40-something blonde woman who was attired in clothing more befitting a college girl from about 5 years ago. (tight jeans, midriff top, high heels, multi tattoos, etc.)  Normally, I don’t pay that much attention to stuff like that, but while I was getting my coffee, she was complaining to the cashier about something, and well,she was loud.  So she caught my attention.

At 6:55, we wind up in line together, me standing in front of her with my coffee, her behind me holding three large sized cans of Miller Icehouse beer. A woman was paying for milk with change, and Blondie starts yelling  “Hey, today, already!” followed very quickly by “retards!”.

I turned around and gave her the evil eye. I get back  “What, you got something to say?”

I responded..”No, it’s not realy worth saying anything about. You speak for yourself.”

I don’t think she got it. When last seen, she was pounding one of the beers behind the wheel of a pick-up, a dopey little yappy dog sitting in her lap.

Don’t be that woman

How does a rude woman angry over not getting to drink a beer as soon as possible first thing in the morning  apply to a job interview?

1. She made a bad first impression.
2. She demonstrated she was high maintenance at the outset of our encounter.
3. She demonstrated inappropriate behavior.
4. She was wearing inappropriate attire.

Obviously, you shouldn’t do these things in an interview setting.  However, that information is not the true lesson to be learned here.   On Friday, I was visiting a local business that I have a relationship with and this very same woman walked into the shop, dressed in considerably more conservative attire than she had been wearing in our last encounter.  She was interested in applying for a job.  The store manager gave her an application and she left, promising to return it on Monday.

She obviously did not remember me.  I remembered her though.

I made sure to share the story of the experience above with the manager who would be interviewing her.

The lesson here:

• When making an impression, you never know which one is going to make a difference.  Think about the impressions you are making every day!

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Tagged as: beer, Business, Clothing, coffee, Conservatism, Employment, Job interview, Tampa Florida