Good impression management not only will help you to survive in your jobs, but also to thrive in your jobs. Making good impressions is important not only in interviews, but also during the probationary periods of these jobs. After that, good impression management will help you to get better ratings from your supervisors and perhaps even will help you to be promoted. Instead of pushing the limits of acceptable professional behavior in the workplace, ambitious employees who want to be promoted should try to exceed the standards for good impression management.
Being in good physical shape is important not only because of the way you look, but also because of the way that physically fit employees perform. When the public looks at employees of a company, those employees are seen as the representatives of that company.
Dressing appropriately also is important. Every workplace has norms of dress. Breaking those norms is a sure way for employees to make negative impressions.
Good grooming is as important as dressing appropriately. Shabby looking employees who have body odor, bad breath, dirty fingernails, and who are wearing dirty, wrinkled clothing will not make good impressions.
Employees’ offices or cubicles are extensions of themselves. How you decorate and maintain your office will make either positive or negative impressions upon your supervisor and peers. Uncluttered, professional looking offices will make good impressions upon all who enter them.
There are many other ways and situations in which you can make good impressions and avoid making bad impressions. One of the most important times to make good impressions, however, is during meetings. Also, anything you put in writing usually cannot be taken back and might be sent to anyone and everyone. Be especially careful regarding how you act in meetings and what you send off by email or snail mail. Also, do not look upon office parties as occasions to throw caution to the winds.
Although we can take off our professional “masks” when we are away from work and with friends and loved ones, if we are to be successful in our careers, we must use a great amount of impression management in our workplaces. Some impression management, however, is necessary even in private lives. Everyone should strive, for example, to remember others’ names and to spell and pronounce these names correctly.
Those who are not motivated or especially skilled at impression management might want to consider starting their own small businesses. Being their own bosses will allow some people to thrive as entrepreneurs. Even with your own business, however, a certain amount of positive impression management is important when interacting with customers.
What are your views on impression management? What do you think about starting your own business?
