First Impressions And Second Chances

As the saying goes, "You only get one chance to make a first impression." A first impression is important because it sets the foundation for your relationship with your coworkers, managers, directors, and more. If you start off on the wrong foot when meeting someone, that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll never get in good with the person in question, if just means that doing so will take a considerable amount of work.

Truthfully, until about five months ago I really didn't believe that this was true. Then, a new member of our team started. I had such high hopes for her first day. I just assumed that she'd come in and we'd click. After her first day I was really upset, she didn't seem to have taken to me like people usually do right off the bat when they meet me. I explained my disappointment to my husband, and he made me reiterate what she had asked in our 1x1 that first day and how I answered. In astonishment he exclaimed, "It sounds like you made a terrible first impression!" I wasn't too concerned because I figured, well, there's always tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that... But my husband knew better, he explained to me that he didn't get started off right at a job he had had previously, and that it took months of working his butt off to prove that he was indeed a knowledgeable, hardworking, trustworthy employee. I just sunk!

As is usually the cae, he was right! I have been working ever since to get in good with her. Here are some tips so that you don't find yourself in the same dilemma:

• Dress appropriately
• Focus on the positives of your job, not the negatives (right away at least)
• Don't take criticism of the processes as criticism of you
• Never assume that the reason you have always done something a particular way is because it's actually the best way to do it
• Be open to change
• Know your strengths and how they benefit the team
• Have some stock ideas ready to discuss that would improve your job/the company

Who else has had to recover after making a bad impression? How long did it take? How did you do it?

Honor Thine Meeting

Outlook is kind of sacred. If you create an Outlook meeting intend on sticking to it. For a while I was working closely with a guy who had terrible Outlook etiquette. He would double book meetings and then blow off one of them at the last minute. He would schedule meetings and then disappear when it was time for the meeting, show up 30-90 minutes later and pretend that there was no meeting ever scheduled. He would schedule meetings, ask to postpone them, and then go play video games in one of our break rooms or hang out and chat with people near me. In short, he drove me crazy!

As a result, I now try to be especially cognizant of the fact that other people plan their days around meetings when I schedule them, and I also try to respect other people's meetings- being punctual, being prepared, and understanding the agenda ahead of time. These actions establish mutual respect and appreciation.

The fact of the matter is that when you have one or more meetings in a day, you prioritize your workload, shuffle around to-do tasks, plan lunch, etc. based on that meeting or those meetings. That's why when someone ignores the commitment that you have made to that meeting it feels so rude.

What meeting scheduling annoyances and pet peeves do you have? Share your bad experiences!