How to make a great first
impression during a job interview

A job interview starts from the moment you walk through the door to meet your interviewer. First impressions can have a lasting impact on peoples' feeling about you as a prospective employee and those first minutes are your chance to make a great impression – or a not so good one – on your next employer.

Follow the following four tips before heading into your next interview to make sure you’re presenting yourself in the right light and setting yourself up for the most successful interview possible.

1. Dress the part

Many hiring managers will form an opinion instantly from your appearance and how you carry yourself. How you appear to your interviewer is how you’ll be viewed by their clients too, so making sure you are dressed smart and professionally is the first step towards making your first impression count and winning your interviewer around.

Consider looking into the company’s website to understand more about the type of business they run to give you an idea of what to wear. Not every employer is the same, so understanding their company culture will be key to understand what kind of image you want to portray.

2. Be on time

There is nothing worse than turning up to an interview late and without a reasonable explanation. Being late shows the employer your lack of organisation and respect for others. It also displays a lack of motivation for the new opportunity in hand and can effectively jeopardise your chances of being invited back or even being interviewed at all. Avoid being late by setting alarms and arriving 15 minutes before the interview start time.

First impressions can have a lasting impact on peoples' feeling about you as an employee, so those first minutes are arguably the most important.

3. Be nice to the receptionist

The person at the front desk may not be the hiring manager—but that doesn’t mean their impression of you doesn’t count. In fact, many companies specifically ask their receptionists to report back on the demeanour of candidates who walk through the door. And their impression could play a role in the ultimate hiring decision - so it’s important to treat that person, along with anyone whom you might come into contact with, as well as you would treat your interviewer.

4. Prepare for questions

Every job interview will vary, sales interview questions will not necessarily be the same as someone going for a job in finance, so you can’t prepare for all potential questions and some may catch you off guard.

However, there are some questions that are very popular among employers when screening potential candidates. By preparing confident answers to some of the more common interview questions you can really impress the interviewer as well as give yourself an advantage over other candidates.

Do you know what to do after an interview? Read our 4 top interview follow-up tips.