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 bounce back from setbacks quickly aren’t the ones who never struggle, they’re often the ones who explain the setback differently — as temporary and specific rather than permanent and all-consuming, the exact pattern Martin Seligman’s decades of research on explanatory style links to resilience

People who bounce back from setbacks quickly aren’t the ones who never struggle, they’re often the ones who explain the setback differently — as temporary and specific rather than permanent and all-consuming, the exact pattern Martin Seligman’s decades of research on explanatory style links to resilience

Global English Editing
Psychology says people who struggle in the first year of retirement aren’t bored or unprepared, they’re grieving a version of themselves that had a title, a place to be, and people who needed them by nine in the morning—and nobody thinks to call that a loss

Psychology says people who struggle in the first year of retirement aren’t bored or unprepared, they’re grieving a version of themselves that had a title, a place to be, and people who needed them by nine in the morning—and nobody thinks to call that a loss

The Vessel
Psychology says people who say “sorry” when someone else bumps into them aren’t weak, they learned early that smoothing things over was safer than being right

Psychology says people who say “sorry” when someone else bumps into them aren’t weak, they learned early that smoothing things over was safer than being right

The Vessel
Psychology suggests grandparents who say yes to everything their grandchildren ask aren’t spoiling them, they’re getting a second chance at a kind of patience they couldn’t quite afford the first time around

Psychology suggests grandparents who say yes to everything their grandchildren ask aren’t spoiling them, they’re getting a second chance at a kind of patience they couldn’t quite afford the first time around

The Vessel
Nobody tells you that home has an expiration date — one day you wake up in the same rooms you’ve lived in for years, and it doesn’t feel like home anymore, just a place you’re visiting

Nobody tells you that home has an expiration date — one day you wake up in the same rooms you’ve lived in for years, and it doesn’t feel like home anymore, just a place you’re visiting

The Vessel
Across 43 studies of 11,196 couples, nobody could reliably say from the questionnaires whose relationship would improve or sour, though the answer that showed up most often was believing your partner wants it to last

Across 43 studies of 11,196 couples, nobody could reliably say from the questionnaires whose relationship would improve or sour, though the answer that showed up most often was believing your partner wants it to last

The Vessel
Load more
CATEGORIES
Explore