Personal Branding Begins in the Waiting Room

  • 1 min read

Do you know when a job interview has begun? The first question right? Wrong. The elevator. Waiting in reception. The small stalk on the way to the interview room. That is when a job interview begins. The same can be said for a business meeting or a sales call.

In fact, you need to start aligning your actions to your personal brand before you even hit the building where your meeting will take place. Snatching that last minute cigarette? Chances are, you will be bringing that smoke with you to the meeting on your clothes – or at least the stale after smell. That person you held the elevator door for? She just happens to be the PA to the person you are meeting. That louder than necessary “domestic” you had on your mobile? The receptionist did hear you and she did just happened to relay your side of the conversation later in the office kitchen to the person you interviewed with.

I know a lot of my posts seemed to be modern day cautionary tales but as a keen observer of human behavior and someone in constant conversation with others about what impresses and distresses, I am just calling it as I see it – and hear it.

All the scenarios above really did happen and formed part of someone’s decision to hire or do business with someone else.

Given the effort most people put into their job interview preparation or sales presentation, it is crucial that we back ourselves all the way. That includes the walk up to the entrance of the building as well as that first hand shake and the meeting itself.

Author:

Kate Southam has been giving people advice on careers for 13 years. She has been the editor of a career website, author of a syndicated newspaper column and remains a regular blogger. She also continues to coach individuals as well as provide commentary on careers and workplace issues to TV, radio and magazines. Kate is also a communications consultant advising businesses. Follow Kate on Twitter @KateSoutham

Picture of Kate Southam

Kate Southam

TRENDING AROUND THE WEB

People who sing loudly in their car, dance in their kitchen, and have full conversations with their pet aren’t eccentric — they’re in contact with a version of themselves that only exists when no one is measuring it

People who sing loudly in their car, dance in their kitchen, and have full conversations with their pet aren’t eccentric — they’re in contact with a version of themselves that only exists when no one is measuring it

The Vessel
Psychology says children raised between 1950 and 1965 were taught that love and duty were the same thing, and most of them honored that belief so completely that they built entire lives around obligation without ever asking whether they were happy — and the question finally arrives in their 60s like a guest who’s decades late and no longer welcome

Psychology says children raised between 1950 and 1965 were taught that love and duty were the same thing, and most of them honored that belief so completely that they built entire lives around obligation without ever asking whether they were happy — and the question finally arrives in their 60s like a guest who’s decades late and no longer welcome

Global English Editing
Psychology says people who are a mass of contradictions aren’t confused about who they are — they’ve simply refused to flatten themselves into a single coherent story that makes other people comfortable

Psychology says people who are a mass of contradictions aren’t confused about who they are — they’ve simply refused to flatten themselves into a single coherent story that makes other people comfortable

Global English Editing
Psychology says the deepest loneliness widowed retirees face isn’t about missing a spouse. It’s the sudden loss of what researchers call ambient companionship, the passive presence of another human that gave every room a reason to be occupied.

Psychology says the deepest loneliness widowed retirees face isn’t about missing a spouse. It’s the sudden loss of what researchers call ambient companionship, the passive presence of another human that gave every room a reason to be occupied.

Global English Editing
I’m 65 and nobody warned me that the hardest part of retirement wouldn’t be the boredom, it would be the silence at 9am on a Monday when every cell in my body is still wired to be needed somewhere and the realization that I’m not hits with the same force every single week even though I’ve technically known it for months

I’m 65 and nobody warned me that the hardest part of retirement wouldn’t be the boredom, it would be the silence at 9am on a Monday when every cell in my body is still wired to be needed somewhere and the realization that I’m not hits with the same force every single week even though I’ve technically known it for months

Global English Editing
Research suggests the loneliest demographic in most developed countries isn’t who you’d expect — it’s not the elderly, the single, or the isolated, it’s married men between 55 and 75 who have a partner in the house, adult children who call occasionally, and not a single person on earth they would describe as a close friend, and most of them don’t identify it as loneliness because they were never taught what connection is supposed to feel like

Research suggests the loneliest demographic in most developed countries isn’t who you’d expect — it’s not the elderly, the single, or the isolated, it’s married men between 55 and 75 who have a partner in the house, adult children who call occasionally, and not a single person on earth they would describe as a close friend, and most of them don’t identify it as loneliness because they were never taught what connection is supposed to feel like

Global English Editing
Load more
CATEGORIES
Explore