Wes Bucey
Prophet of Profit
"Perception can outweigh reality"
What on earth is the old fuddy duddy ranting about now?
A lot of folks here in the Cove are aware I spend a lot of time writing and counseling about
Recently, I ran a thread about potential negative fallout from electronic messaging (Privacy of communications - a common myth)
Today's screed addresses those folks who say, "Who cares what they think about me? I do my job and I do it darn well!
The problem with that is precisely that bosses and potential bosses rarely take the time to look past the immediate picture an incumbent or candidate presents when he writes or talks (on the phone, in an interview, to bosses, coworkers, customers, friends, etc.)
It is a sad, but true aphorism,
"You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression."
If you
Especially in today's economic climate, bosses have numerous candidates for most positions either open or about to open. With so many candidates, they rarely take time to look further at a candidate who gets a strike because of poor communication skills or poor appearance, regardless whether the boss perceives those poor skills in formal documents or interviews or casual speech and writing in electronic communication to customers, suppliers, friends, and coworkers.
What does this boil down to?
Simply, it means EVERYTHING we wear, do, say, or write can have a positive or negative impact on the perception people have of us, regardless if it is at work, on Facebook, or in the company cafeteria, or corner saloon with friends.
By now, we've all heard at least one horror story about some lovestruck teenager sending an explicit electronic picture of himself/herself to the object of affection, only to be betrayed and humiliated when it is spread all over the internet.
As I wrote in Privacy of communications - a common myth, almost everything that happens (whether by us or to us) has a possibility of being captured and retrieved by a boss or HR snoop and used for us or against us.
I, myself, found my picture among some campaign literature for a political candidate whose opponent I was supporting. A little investigation by me soon revealed we had both attended a nonpolitical fundraiser for a local charity and the camera angle implied the candidate and I were engaged in close private conversation. In fact, he had asked me where the men's room was! Since I'm a contributor, not a candidate, folks really only cared whether my checks kept coming, but I did take some ribbing at my next meeting with my own candidate. What if I had been a paid or volunteer campaign worker for my candidate? Might someone have questioned whether I was a traitor?
Positive perception:
The good news is that we can start today to create a positive impression!
Contributing well-written work documents on your job, articles to trade journals (even a lowly ASQ Section newsletter), speaking up at work meetings, association meetings, even at your kid's PTA, are all good ways to make a positive impression once you have the basics down. The idea is to overwhelm a new casual observer with your good impressions to keep the old bad impressions buried.
Bottom line:
The point I'm trying to make here is that it doesn't matter what the reality is, only the perception and first impression count with most people, especially bosses. If we hope to achieve success in our careers, we need to pay attention to the perception we present and make every effort for that perception to be positive.
What on earth is the old fuddy duddy ranting about now?
A lot of folks here in the Cove are aware I spend a lot of time writing and counseling about
- How to get a job
- How to keep a job
- When to look for a new job
- How to get promoted
Recently, I ran a thread about potential negative fallout from electronic messaging (Privacy of communications - a common myth)
Today's screed addresses those folks who say, "Who cares what they think about me? I do my job and I do it darn well!
The problem with that is precisely that bosses and potential bosses rarely take the time to look past the immediate picture an incumbent or candidate presents when he writes or talks (on the phone, in an interview, to bosses, coworkers, customers, friends, etc.)
It is a sad, but true aphorism,
"You don't get a second chance to make a good first impression."
If you
- have a messy workplace (despite the fact YOU "know where everything is.")
- talk and swear like a drunk in a bar
- use poor grammar and even poorer vocabulary choices
- mumble and mutter instead of speaking clearly
- dress like a slob or a tart or in any other way inappropriately for the job
- have poor personal hygiene and/or halitosis from food, tobacco, alcohol
- write incoherently (being too prolix when brevity is called for can also be a strike)
- spell poorly to the point others may think you mean one word when you mean another or worse, that you just aren't smart or educated enough and probably that lack of intelligence or education may signal you can't do the job
- still speak with a strong accent making it difficult for others to decipher your verbal communication (especially after years in the country different from the one of your native language)
Especially in today's economic climate, bosses have numerous candidates for most positions either open or about to open. With so many candidates, they rarely take time to look further at a candidate who gets a strike because of poor communication skills or poor appearance, regardless whether the boss perceives those poor skills in formal documents or interviews or casual speech and writing in electronic communication to customers, suppliers, friends, and coworkers.
What does this boil down to?
Simply, it means EVERYTHING we wear, do, say, or write can have a positive or negative impact on the perception people have of us, regardless if it is at work, on Facebook, or in the company cafeteria, or corner saloon with friends.
By now, we've all heard at least one horror story about some lovestruck teenager sending an explicit electronic picture of himself/herself to the object of affection, only to be betrayed and humiliated when it is spread all over the internet.
As I wrote in Privacy of communications - a common myth, almost everything that happens (whether by us or to us) has a possibility of being captured and retrieved by a boss or HR snoop and used for us or against us.
I, myself, found my picture among some campaign literature for a political candidate whose opponent I was supporting. A little investigation by me soon revealed we had both attended a nonpolitical fundraiser for a local charity and the camera angle implied the candidate and I were engaged in close private conversation. In fact, he had asked me where the men's room was! Since I'm a contributor, not a candidate, folks really only cared whether my checks kept coming, but I did take some ribbing at my next meeting with my own candidate. What if I had been a paid or volunteer campaign worker for my candidate? Might someone have questioned whether I was a traitor?
Positive perception:
The good news is that we can start today to create a positive impression!
- Take a good look at yourself in a full length mirror before you leave your house. Do you present the picture of a neat, alert, organized person dressed appropriately for the activities in which you will engage?
- Take a good look at your work space (home and at the job.) Would someone else looking think, "Wow! This person is organized and on the ball."
- Buy a small, cheap MP3 player with recording capability and record your end of conversations you have in person or over the phone for an hour or two. Play them back in private. Are you cursing and using slang? Do you interject with a lot of "crutch" words and phrases (you know, like, snap, actually, er, uh, and a, see, OK, and so on.) Is there a possibility you are mispronouncing words or using the wrong word? Check some out on line with one of those dictionaries where they have an accurate oral pronunciation guide or link, especially the ones you were never quite sure of - I recall one junior exec who never graduated to senior who continually said "report" when he meant "rapport" - check the pronunciations yourself and guess why he never made senior grade.)
- Take some of your writing (if it is not against security regulations) to a friend or even down to a local community college teacher and have that person evaluate your writing - stress you want an HONEST evaluation. Many folks will be surprised at the evaluation.
Contributing well-written work documents on your job, articles to trade journals (even a lowly ASQ Section newsletter), speaking up at work meetings, association meetings, even at your kid's PTA, are all good ways to make a positive impression once you have the basics down. The idea is to overwhelm a new casual observer with your good impressions to keep the old bad impressions buried.
Bottom line:
The point I'm trying to make here is that it doesn't matter what the reality is, only the perception and first impression count with most people, especially bosses. If we hope to achieve success in our careers, we need to pay attention to the perception we present and make every effort for that perception to be positive.
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