How to Make the Best First Impressions

1. 0:00 – 0:06

   Intro

   1. BRBrett Rocheleau0:00

      [upbeat music]

2. 0:06 – 0:49

   Cold-open interview role play: confident candidate, unimpressed interviewer

   1. BRBrett Rocheleau0:06

      Hey, Mom. Yeah, I'm pretty nervous for this interview. But I spent all weekend knowing my content, so I'm ready to crush the interview. No, I, I don't know who I'm interviewing with. I just know her name is Tammie. She's a partner at the firm but don't know much else. Sorry, Mom, I gotta run. I'm walking to the waiting room now. [footsteps]

   2. TCTammie Chen0:29

      Hi, Brett.

   3. BRBrett Rocheleau0:30

      Hey, Tammie. How's it going?

   4. TCTammie Chen0:32

      Good. How are you doing?

   5. BRBrett Rocheleau0:33

      Um, I'm doing good. It's a beautiful day in Palo Alto. Is the weather always this nice in November?

   6. TCTammie Chen0:38

      Yes, it is. It is. Is this is your first time here?

   7. BRBrett Rocheleau0:41

      Yeah. Yeah. I'm from the Midwest, and it's snowing already there.

   8. TCTammie Chen0:44

      Got it. Well, welcome here. So I'm looking at your resume-

3. 0:49 – 1:22

   Debrief: why first impressions diverge so quickly

   1. TNTejas Naphade0:49

      Cut! How many of you think this is going well so far? Show of hands. How many of you think it's too early to tell? Hmm. Let's see what our participants think. Brett, how do you think it's been so far?

   2. BRBrett Rocheleau1:04

      As much as you guys said, I feel, think things are going pretty well. I complimented the weather, talked about the city-

   3. TNTejas Naphade1:09

      [laughs]

   4. BRBrett Rocheleau1:09

      ... and now I'm ready to crush this interview.

   5. TNTejas Naphade1:11

      Interesting. Tammie, what's your opinion?

   6. TCTammie Chen1:14

      I've had 10 interviews today. I don't feel a special connection with this guy. He doesn't stand out.

   7. TNTejas Naphade1:20

      Wow.

   8. SPSpeaker1:20

      [laughs]

4. 1:22 – 2:25

   Framing the science: first impressions, strength & warmth, and "it starts before it starts"

   1. TNTejas Naphade1:22

      Did you just see how-

   2. SPSpeaker1:23

      [laughs]

   3. TNTejas Naphade1:25

      Did you just see how in the first 10 seconds itself, there are such different opinions of how it's gone among the two people? First impressions in an interview are critical. When they say, "Don't judge a book by its cover," that's actually what we do most of the time. First impressions are usually formed within the first 17 seconds of meeting someone, and then they're only reinforced with time with high correlation. Research from Amy Cuddy shows that 80% of your first impression is based on two traits. Strength, how capable and competent is this person? And warmth, do I trust them? Thing is, it actually starts before it starts. Your preparation can key you up for success for the rest of the interview. Consequently, it could also put you on your back foot so that you're always kind of struggling to catch up. So let's take a look at a couple things we can do to enforce good habit building to

5. 2:25 – 3:20

   Online presence: your first impression may happen before you arrive

   1. TNTejas Naphade2:25

      set you up for your best success. First, let's check our online presence.

   2. SPSpeaker2:31

      [laughs]

   3. TNTejas Naphade2:32

      Uh, Brett, if, if you wouldn't mind. Thank you. When was it you thought you first saw Tammie and she first saw you?

   4. BRBrett Rocheleau2:39

      When Tammie walked down those steps, opened the imaginary door, and saw me sitting in the waiting room.

   5. SPSpeaker2:43

      [laughs]

   6. TNTejas Naphade2:44

      I, I think that that's maybe true. Uh, but more likely probably is that she did her research and, and she saw this. This is a, this is a beautiful picture of you. I think, uh, it's taken-

   7. BRBrett Rocheleau2:54

      Good-looking guy.

   8. TNTejas Naphade2:55

      Good-looking guy.

   9. SPSpeaker2:55

      [laughs]

   10. TNTejas Naphade2:56

       Nothing we can do to improve upon this. But please, let's think a little bit about the production value that we're putting into this. The lighting is a little bit off. You can't necessarily do any better than this when it comes to, like, the smile, but there is more you can do for a high-resolution camera. Let's see what we can do. Let's put you into the Brett you can be.

   11. SPSpeaker3:14

       [laughs]

   12. TNTejas Naphade3:15

       There. You're looking good. [clapping]

   13. BRBrett Rocheleau3:18

       [laughs] Thank you for that.

   14. SPSpeaker3:19

       [laughs]

6. 3:20 – 3:56

   What to wear: match the environment, then go one step above

   1. TNTejas Naphade3:20

      All right. Another thing you might want to think about is dressing appropriately. I was hoping you might kind of walk me through some of your, your thinking when you got dressed.

   2. BRBrett Rocheleau3:28

      I know that Tammie's firm was business casual, so I thought it'd be good to match business casual and be a part of the team.

   3. TNTejas Naphade3:34

      I can see that. Anyone? Agree? Yeah. All right. I, I might, I might suggest one, one other thing. Uh, maybe consider that if they're gonna be business casual, let's zhuzh you up just a little bit. One step above. How do you feel?

   4. BRBrett Rocheleau3:50

      Feel a lot more confident right now.

   5. TNTejas Naphade3:51

      Thank... Yeah. I like to hide behind a blazer, too. [laughs]

   6. SPSpeaker3:55

      [laughs]

   7. BRBrett Rocheleau3:55

      [laughs]

7. 3:56 – 4:28

   You’re on stage immediately: ditch the phone and be fully present

   1. TNTejas Naphade3:56

      And the next thing to remember, you're already on stage from the second that you come in. Can I borrow your phone for one moment?

   2. BRBrett Rocheleau4:01

      Sure.

   3. TNTejas Naphade4:01

      Great. Uh, I like this. I'm gonna give this back to you. Oh.

   4. SPSpeaker4:04

      [laughs]

   5. TNTejas Naphade4:06

      As soon as you are done with the interview, you can use this to call an Uber when you're done. When they see you using the phone, it looks like you're not there, you're not ready. Let's set you up for the best success. You are here, you are present. Yeah? Okay. So remember, like, think about all of these things before you go in. Remember that there's going to be some habit building that happens, and we want to make sure that you're set up for your best success because it starts before it starts.

8. 4:28 – 6:43

   Waiting room tactics: stand up, warm up socially, and master the greeting

   1. TCTammie Chen4:28

      And now let's prepare you for what it's like in the waiting room. Brett, would you please act like what you did before? I have three quick tips for you to help you to differentiate yourself professionally in the waiting room. First, try to plan to stand up. Standing up, based on author Peggy Wallace, gives you more power and confidence. Standing up gives you more energy because it's, so much better than if you would have, uh, slouch in a couch. When you're nervous in an interview, your default would be to take refuge in sinking in that comfortable couch in the waiting room. Instead of sitting there, you can look at the view out of the window, read about the art on the wall, or read about a magazine whi- while you're standing. Standing up has one other benefit. When someone you meet comes in, standing up gives you a more fluid transition into greeting them because you start out as their equal rather than from below them from a sitting position. The second tip we have for you is to make small conversations. They can be with people in the receptionist, or they can be other candidates in the room. This helps you stretch out your vocal cords so you can, you can deliver a more clear and resonant voice. And hopefully, the admins will see that you are a friendly person and you're a better fit for the company's culture. Convert them into your allies. The third tip we have for you is to master the meet and greet. You won't be able to immediately have this high energy as soon as you see someone in that first millisecond. Therefore, prepare the mentality for solid first, first impression. Think about what you wanna do to be confident, to show enthusiasm, and show that you're polished. Greet them with a open gesture, a firm handshake, and a direct eye contact. Brett, let's practice this.

   2. BRBrett Rocheleau6:27

      Hey, Tammie.

   3. TCTammie Chen6:29

      Much better, isn't it?

   4. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger6:30

      [laughs]

   5. TCTammie Chen6:31

      So as you can see, there's three quick tips for you to prepare in the waiting room. As we said, it really starts before it starts.

9. 6:43 – 8:27

   Interview room essentials: do homework on the interviewer, posture, eye contact, and mirroring energy

   1. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger6:43

      Now let's talk about preparing Brett for the interview room. Brett, come on in. Have a seat. I have three tips for you. First, have engaging conversation for your interviewer, and prepare for that. Do your homework beforehand. Look up what they work on, where they went to school or college, what their hobbies are. See if you have any commonalities with them or shared experiences. Talk about those to build connections. Second, let's talk about posture. Brett, when you sit with your leg up against your knee and slouching back, you convey a casual attitude and a bit of arrogance. Let's fix that. Why don't you sit straight and try to project confidence? It's important to maintain eye contact with your interviewer so that they build tru- it builds trust. When you look away from your interviewer and talk, they might think you're not being genuine. Third, it's important to mirror the energy in the room. Practice this beforehand. If your interviewer is low energy or tired, don't be too peppy.

   2. TCTammie Chen7:52

      [laughs]

   3. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger7:53

      If your interviewer is high energy, try to match their level. You want the interviewer to be comfortable with your energy level and not be awkward. So to summarize, three tips: Do your homework on content, have engaging conversations, have a confident body posture, and mirror the energy level in the room. Remember, it starts before it starts. Now let's see if Brett has learned through this process.

10. 8:27 – 8:58

    Second role play: a stronger start using connection and presence

    1. BRBrett Rocheleau8:27

       Wow, I walk into the waiting room, I don't have my phone out. I'm so prepared.

    2. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger8:31

       [laughs]

    3. TCTammie Chen8:36

       [laughs] Hi, Brett.

    4. BRBrett Rocheleau8:38

       Hey, Tammie. I'm so excited to be interviewing with you today.

    5. TCTammie Chen8:41

       Well, welcome. Here.

    6. BRBrett Rocheleau8:42

       I noticed by looking at our LinkedIn that we have a common connection. How do you know RJ Miller?

    7. TCTammie Chen8:47

       Oh my God. We went to GSB together.

    8. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger8:49

       [laughs]

    9. BRBrett Rocheleau8:49

       Oh, he's my neighbor. Do you have any good stories about him at the ti- his time at the GSB?

    10. TCTammie Chen8:54

        Totally, totally. Let's talk about it.

    11. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger8:56

        [laughs]

11. 8:58 – 9:35

    Debrief and personal lesson: qualified isn’t enough if you don’t signal seriousness early

    1. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger8:58

       Cut. Wasn't that so much better? Let's ask our participants how that felt. Tammie, how did that land on you?

    2. TCTammie Chen9:06

       I've had 10 interviews today. I won't forget which one Brett is.

    3. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger9:10

       Brett, how did that feel?

    4. BRBrett Rocheleau9:12

       I felt that went a lot better. I came in focused. I wasn't distracted on my cellphone, and we made a common connection that got my nerves down and ready to go with the interview. So I know as we go through this, most of you think these were just two role plays. Sadly, a month and a half ago, that first role play you saw, that was me, minus the whole LinkedIn photo.

    5. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger9:34

       [laughs]

12. 9:35 – 11:19

    Closing takeaways and Q&A: dress up, research, rehearse posture—because it truly starts before it starts

    1. BRBrett Rocheleau9:35

       I walked into the interview wearing this, but all the other candidates had ties on. I thought I wanted to match the people I was interviewing with. I did talk about the weather, because I spent all my time researching and preparing for my content of my interview. All the other candidates, they had these crazy connections with their interviewers, and they did their homework. I walked into that wait- uh, that interview room, I was nervous. I did put my leg up. It hid my nerves. I thought it portrayed confidence. But when I got the feedback after the interview, they told me that I crushed the interviews. I was the most qualified candidate for the job, but I didn't get the job because they felt I didn't take it seriously. That really hurt me, because I really focused on this interview. But like Tejas mentioned, the first 17 seconds are super important, and I think that's what set me behind and on the back foot. Fortunately, the story has a happy ending, because I learned from these mistakes, didn't make this error twice, got a job that was better for me two weeks later that I've signed, and-

    2. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger10:42

       [cheers]

    3. BRBrett Rocheleau10:42

       Thank you. And just our hope for you going forward is that when you go into that interview, do focus on dressing up, do focus on doing your research on your interviewer. Practice that posture before you walk in, because when you can... If you do that, you're gonna start off on the right foot when you go into that content, and you will learn that, I learned the hard way, that it truly does start before it starts. Thank you.

    4. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger11:07

       I want to thank you very much for sharing that abysmal failure with us-

    5. BRBrett Rocheleau11:10

       [laughs]

    6. ARAndrew Lee Rubinger11:10

       ... so you can learn from your mistakes. And with that, we'd love to open up to some questions. [outro music]

Episode duration: 11:19