SECOND First Impression?

Be careful how you treat people.  Read that again.  Be careful how you treat people.  You never know who they are or who they know, and you do not get a second chance to make a first impression.  That first impression is the most important, because it sets the tone for all future interactions.  Making a bad first impression cannot be undone.  You do not get a do-over to try to make a good first impression. 

In a professional setting, your first impression can impact your career opportunities whether it being dressing and acting professionally, treating others with respect, regardless of their title, displaying confidence, and so on.  I can recall an instance when I drafted a contract.  There had been a lot of back and forth via email changing the contract terms and so on.  In the meantime, there was a woman in the office who was clearly not too fond of me.  She would see me in the office at times and always had an attitude towards me. I am assuming that she just did not know my name, considering I was on the email chain.

Once all terms of the contract were agreed upon, it was finally signed.  Everyone on the email was happy with the terms and went about their day.  One day, while in the pantry, another woman called me by name, and little Ms. Attitude just so happened to be there as well.  She proclaimed “Oh, are you the one that worked on the contract for XYZ Company?”  After responding yes, she told me how great she thought the contract was, and proceeded to introduce herself, trying to make small talk. 

I simply smiled and got out of there as fast as I could.  From that day forward, whenever she would see me, she would speak and smile, and tried to be overall pleasant, to which I would always give her the side eye because she had already ruined her first impression with me.  Regardless of her singing my praises after the fact, and wanting to make small talk, I will not forget how you tried to make me feel that I was not important, because at that time, you did not know who I was. 

The tone has already been set, and if you leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth, they will not forget that.  The late great Dr. Maya Angelou said it best when she said “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

In another instance, I attended the Women’s Conference in Philadelphia the year that former first lady, Mrs. Michele Obama was the keynote speaker, who was interviewed by Ms. Shonda Rhimes.  During the event, I sat at a table with several executives from my company, and some of them were not only surprised to see me there but imagine their faces when I was mingling with and hugging many high profiled and successful women that were in attendance. 

I received questions such as “how do you know her?  How long have you known her?  When did you guys meet?”  In my mind, I’m thinking, why does it matter.  Can we stop being so surprised about certain things.  Again, you do not know who I know, and in what capacity, and once you find out, please continue to keep the same energy that you gave me prior to you knowing this information. 

It is important to remember that you should make a conscious effort to create and provide a positive first impression, as they shape how people perceive us.  No such thing as a SECOND first impression.