1.4 Good first impression checklist

Creating a mental checklist for when you meet an interviewer or someone at a networking event is a useful way to make sure your first impression is a good one. You could use the following:

• Make eye contact
• Smile
• Firm handshake (if appropriate)
• Sit straight in your chair, shoulders down and back
• Maintain open body language (don’t fold your arms or cross your legs)
• Listen to what the other person is saying.

Once you’ve made a good first impression, you then need to make sure that your answers to interview questions are as effective as possible. You’ll look at how to do this next.