You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. These immortal words seem to have withstood the test of time. So what is it about our appearance that speaks a million words? 

How you appear, or someones perception of you or your products will go a long way in establishing a good start with any relationship. In relation to your career or when searching for jobs there are a few things you should get right to start with. You have probably heard of Susan Boyle. She is the woman that went on ‘Britain’s got talent’ and and sang her heart out to an overwhelming response. What is strange about this? Nothing, really aside from the fact she didn’t look like she had talent and in other circumstances may have been judged and discarded before being given a chance. But this is what makes good entertainment. Applying for jobs however, isn’t about entertainment. It’s about impressing someone enough to offer you a job. 

So what can we learn from this.

We’ll I’m not going to suggest that one should tone downs one appearance in order to dramatise the effect when one eventually speaks. Although Susan Boyle used this to here to her advantage,  it was more the overwhelming talent that struck a chord than her deceptive cunning. When she walked on stage I don’t think anyone in the audience (who didn’t know her) thought she had any talent.

How does this help me.

Well don’t leave it to chance. There are 3 simple things everyone can do to improve their appearance.

1. Brush yourself up!

Dust down your suit or purchase a new one. I go to gentlemen’s tailor and purchase ‘value for money’ suits at very good prices, I then get them to adjust the suit to fit me perfectly. This costs a lot less than you think, in fact, this particular chain will adjust the suit for free

2. Brush up your CV

How can you make your CV better? Think about it from the recruiters point of view. Ensure your CV is clear, well layed out and easy to pick out your strong points. Sell yourself and advertise the benefits of hiring you.

3. Brush up your vocabulary

The words we use and the manner in which we communicate is essential to convincing someone that we have command of our thoughts and actions. Whether right or wrong, people judge us not only on appearance as in the case of Susan Boyle with in the way we speak. 

So I would recommend thinking about the words you use when talking to people and also the way we say things. Using slang will simply communicate that you are either too lazy or worse. So make an effort to find and use good words to describe what you mean.

Good luck!

This article was written by Mark K. Hollingworth and partners at oneJobworld.com Copyright 2009  for more information please visit onejobworld.com/articles.html