You only get one chance to make a first impression. I’ve heard that expression for a big part of my life. So when I’m meeting someone for the first time whether it be for a date or a job interview I have tried my best to look my best. That’s just what you do.
I’m not sure it has filtered down to the younger generations though based on some of the job applicants I’ve seen over the last few years. I understand that times have changed. But I don’t think personal hygiene and good grooming is something that has gone by the wayside in regard to professional appearance.
How difficult is it to take out the tongue piercings, the nose ring, and wear something that covers the tattoos. Not that I think there is anything wrong with these things. But certainly takes away from the initial impression you have of someone who may be smart, intelligent and genuinely qualified when they walk in looking like they are headed to a rock concert instead of applying for a position with a company.
And its not just the appearance. People, leave the boyfriend at home, the baby with a sitter and the poodle at the kennel! Sometimes though, those first impressions can be totally wrong!
Years ago , I was doing interviews for a company. We were hiring for a position to go in and do shoe polish resets in Kansas grocery stores. We were conducting interviews with the client present so they could have input. We had selected several candidates ( pre-screened over the phone). At the last minute, my boss calls and says that one of the candidates has cancelled but she has filled the spot with someone that had called her that morning. She felt this person had the right experience and so she had told her to go ahead and show up. The morning went pretty well. The candidates came in and I was impressed that they had dressed appropriately (I had told them what to wear), that they the right credentials (I had carefully screened their prior work experience and checked their references). Overall, a very impressive group and the client and I were having a hard time deciding who would get the job.
Then in came the last minute interview. Imagine my surprise when in walks this tiny little old lady with a pink toolbox and a poodle that I swear was dyed a faint shade of pink to match her pink pantsuit and hot pink ball cap. For a minute I thought my boss was playing a prank on me but it became obvious that she wasn’t when “Virginia” you can call me Ginny stuck out her hand to hand me a hand written resume printed on hot pink stationary and reeking of some old lady perfume. I wanted to crawl under my chair. The client had a look of shock on his face as well.
Turns out, she was one of the most impressive interviews I have ever done. She answered every question we threw at her with flying colors. When it came time to demonstrate her ability to put together a shoe polish rack she used the tools in her pink toolbox and had it put together in the time it had taken the other candidates to read the instructions before beginning. She filled the rack with the shoe polish like she had been doing it for years. When she stepped back from the rack, the client applauded. The poodle barked and “Ginny” beamed. Before I could say a word, the client, a stuffy executive type who had been very tight lipped and hard to read up until that point, said “She’s our girl. We’re done here.”
Just goes to show that sometimes first impressions can be misleading. Ginny went on to be one of the best employees I ever managed. She took Puff, the poodle with her on the road. She may have had to take more frequent breaks to go let Puff out of her kennel during her reset days but without fail the grocery managers would rave about the little old lady in pink when I called to check her work. Her work ethic and her people skills were second to none. She became my hero. Even when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor during the last of her contract, she never gave up. She found a friend to help her and she finished the job despite my urging that we could manage without her. When she died, I drove 500 miles to attend her funeral. Her casket was pink, the flowers pink, and the church was decked out in pink ribbons. She was a unique individual and she made a lasting impression on me.
I had a date last weekend. I cleaned my house and put away the laundry and cleaned the carpets and weeded the flower bed. I wanted to make a good impression when he came to my house. Just before he got there I walked thru to make sure that everything was in its place. What caught my eye was my bedside table. There in full view, ready to make some kind of impression was a roll of duct tape, a pair of scissors, and a butter knife. What an impression that would have made had I not noticed and he had walked thru my bedroom to get to the bathroom. He probably would have thought I was some sort of freak that was going to duct tape him and stab him with a butter knife. By the way, the duct tape and scissors were from having to duct tape my cpap mask every night until I finally broke down and paid the $85 to buy a new one. The butter knife was there because I had used it when I couldn’t find a flat head screwdriver to replace the batteries in a calculator I was using to do my taxes.
Yesterday morning I went to my freezer to get out my lean cuisine to take for lunch and I had to laugh. The only thing in my freezer right now is lean cuisines and alcohol. I’m not a big drinker, just wine now and then and occasional drink if I’m out for dinner. But to a stranger it would look like I am a major drinker. There is a bottle of gin, vodka, tequila in the freezer (alcohol doesn’t freeze). Some have probably been there 10 years. I do remember buying them so that I could offer guests a drink when I had a 4th of July party years ago.
Turning around the kitchen table has 3 open bibles, a writing tablet, and a notebook of my moms Sunday School lessons, a couple of scripture reference books and a Christian music CD. These are left from my last writing/transcription session for the book I’m working on using her Sunday School lessons and adding my own thoughts and opinions. What a contrast! And what an impression it would give to a stranger if they opened my freezer and turned to sit at my kitchen table. A holy roller alcoholic. Of which I’m actually neither.
Last year on my birthday a couple of my young “smart alec” co-workers gave me a gift sack full of old people things. Depends underwear, ben gay, prune juice, gas x, polident, even fleet enemas. Haha! I couldn’t just throw away this stuff so I stuck it in the bathroom cabinet. So if someone snoopy should open that cabinet in the bathroom they will wonder if I’m lying about my age or have kidnapped an old person.
So my point is that first impressions can be wrong. You really can’t judge a book by its cover. What you see may not be what you get. A pretty package can hide the ugly truth. Sometimes things may not be what they seem. So dig deeper. Give 2nd chances. Take a 2nd look. You may be pleasantly surprised.
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