Lydia Ramsey and I have just released a new career advice book called Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  You can get a copy at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=success+tweets+for+creating+positive+personal+impact&sprefix=success+twee/

First impressions are a big part of creating positive personal impact.  Here are my 20 best tips on how to create a favorable first impression.

1. Remember that “business” is the first and most important word in the phrase “business casual”.  Dress like you’re going to work, not to a sporting event.
2. Dress appropriately for your work situation.  It is usually hard to be overdressed.  Error on the side of caution if you don’t know what is appropriate.  Observe successful people in your organization.  What do they wear?  Dress like them.
3. Dedicate time and money to your business wardrobe.  Purchase your clothing according to a well thought out plan.  You can stretch your clothing budget by getting things on sale, but only if you have a plan.
4. Learn your company’s unwritten dress code.  Make sure you conform.  Show the world how creative you are in your off work hours.
5. Buy the highest quality clothes that you can afford.  This will pay off in the long run.  High quality clothes look better and wear longer.  Buy blazers first.  Blazers are an important staple of a business casual wardrobe –for both men and women.  Every business person should have one black and one navy blue blazer.
6. Keep your clothes looking good.  Find and use a good dry cleaner.  Make sure your blazer buttons are all there, and that the lining of your skirt doesn’t hang down below the hem.
7. Leave your jeans for the weekends.  They may be acceptable at your place of work, but well pressed khakis look a lot better.
8. Make sure your shoes are shined and in good repair.  Run down heels, and holes in your soles give a poor impression.  A good shoe shine puts a bounce in your step.  It helps your confidence.
9. Wear jewelry that is understated, not gaudy.  Save the bling for parties and clubs.
10. Freshen your breath with the strips that have become common in the past few years.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.
11. Keep your hands looking good – if you bite your nails, stop.  Men don’t need to get manicures, but your nails should be neatly trimmed.  Women should avoid manicures that draw a lot of attention to their nails.
12. Wear minimal amounts of after shave, cologne or perfume.  You want people to remember you for what you have to say, not how you smell.
13. Wash your hair daily.  Dirty hair can have a bad odor.  Clean hair prevents dandruff.  It helps you look well groomed.
14. Comb your hair several times a day – especially after coming in from outdoors.  A quick look in the mirror will show you just how windblown your hair can get, even on a day that is not particularly windy.
15. Have your hair cut and styled regularly.  Your hair stylist is your friend.  Visit him or her as often as necessary to keep you looking sharp.
16. Stand or sit up straight.  Don’t slouch.  Your mother was right.  Good posture is important.  It makes you look more self confident.
17. When traveling, pack so you will look good on arrival.  Don’t over pack your suitcase.  You might get a few more things in, but you’ll end up with a lot of wrinkled clothes.
18. Cover your clothes in plastic cleaner bags when you pack..  Friction causes wrinkling, plastic reduces friction. Pack your hanger items in individual bags (one outfit per dry-cleaner bag). Use zip-top baggies dirty shoes, shampoo bottles, or anything else you want to isolate from your good clothes.
19. Fold sweaters and shirts before you put them in your suitcase.  Button all buttons and lay the shirt or sweater face down on a bed or flat surface. Smooth away wrinkles. Fold it at the shoulders and lay arms flat along the body so that you create a roughly two-inch overlap of material on both sides.  Then fold up a third of the material from the bottom and overlap a third from the top.
20. Use inexpensive mesh laundry bags to stow your underwear when traveling.  If your bag is inspected, no one will touch your underwear since an inspector will be able to see into the bag. Roll your socks and place them inside your shoes; or use them to fill gaps in your bag.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  First impressions go a long way in helping you create positive personal impact – an important career success move.  Follow the 20 tips above and you will create a lasting, positive first impression.

That’s my career advice on creating a positive first impression.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.  I  value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first is 140 bits of career advice, all in 140 characters or less.  The other is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is my new career success coach book.  I’m proud to say that it has just gone into its second printing.  I also want to thank all of the kind folks who have posted a review of Success Tweets on Amazon.com.  You’re the best.  I really appreciate you. 

You can pick up a copy of Success Tweets at your local bookstore or on line at amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook version for free at www.SuccessTweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Success Tweet 77…

Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.

I am always surprised when I meet an otherwise well groomed person who has bad breath.  Usually these people are unaware of the problem.  I was in the mall the other day getting fitted for a pair of new glasses.  The woman helping me had breath that smelled like stale coffee.  It wasn’t very pleasant.  I’m sure she was unaware of it.  I didn’t know her, so I said nothing.

A couple of months ago I was getting a haircut.  My stylist had been eating some kind of snack food that had a lot of garlic.  His breath was overpowering.  I know him reasonably well, so I was comfortable telling him that the snack food he had eaten really caused bad breath.  He thanked me, and popped a piece of gum into his mouth to mask the smell.

That helped, but then he bagan smacking his gum – not very attractive to watch in the mirror, nor to listen to. 

I like gum.  But thanks to Cathy, I’ve broken the habit of chewing it.  It’s difficult to chew gum and not smack it or look vapid.  I have limited my gum chewing to when I’m riding my bike or exercising.  Even then, I focus on keeping my mouth closed and avoiding smacking it.

People often chew gum on airplanes to help their ears adjust to the changes in cabin pressure.  While chewing gum can help your ears, it does little for your image as a professional.  My best career advice is to not chew gum ever.  There are better ways to control bad breath.

Many otherwise well groomed people forget about their breath.  Fresh breath is the mark of a well groomed person.  Brushing after lunch is the best way to keep your breath fresh.  However, if you don’t want to bring a tooth brush to work, the breath strips do a pretty good job of keeping your breath fresh.  Use them after coffee, and after eating – especially when you eat food seasoned with garlic, or after sushi.  Cathy always reminds me when I have wasabi breath.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  It’s the little things that mark you as a well groomed person.  Too many people don’t pay enough attention to their breath.  Bad breath is not pleasant.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  “Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.”  Brushing can be inconvenient, so I recommend the breath strips.  I always encourage my career success coach clients to avoid gum.  It can sweeten your breath, but it also makes you look unsophisticated. 

That’s my take on the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, you have my deepest thanks for reading.

Bud

Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is my new career success coach book.  I’m proud to say that it has just gone into its second printing.  I also want to thank all of the kind folks who have posted a review of Success Tweets on Amazon.com.  You’re the best.  I really appreciate you. 

You can pick up a copy of Success Tweets at your local bookstore or on line at amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook version for free at www.SuccessTweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Success Tweet 77…

Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.

I am always surprised when I meet an otherwise well groomed person who has bad breath.  Usually these people are unaware of the problem.  I was in the mall the other day getting fitted for a pair of new glasses.  The woman helping me had breath that smelled like stale coffee.  It wasn’t very pleasant.  I’m sure she was unaware of it.  I didn’t know her, so I said nothing.

A couple of months ago I was getting a haircut.  My stylist had been eating some kind of snack food that had a lot of garlic.  His breath was overpowering.  I know him reasonably well, so I was comfortable telling him that the snack food he had eaten really caused bad breath.  He thanked me, and popped a piece of gum into his mouth to mask the smell.

That helped, but then he bagan smacking his gum – not very attractive to watch in the mirror, nor to listen to. 

I like gum.  But thanks to Cathy, I’ve broken the habit of chewing it.  It’s difficult to chew gum and not smack it or look vapid.  I have limited my gum chewing to when I’m riding my bike or exercising.  Even then, I focus on keeping my mouth closed and avoiding smacking it.

People often chew gum on airplanes to help their ears adjust to the changes in cabin pressure.  While chewing gum can help your ears, it does little for your image as a professional.  My best career advice is to not chew gum ever.  There are better ways to control bad breath.

Many otherwise well groomed people forget about their breath.  Fresh breath is the mark of a well groomed person.  Brushing after lunch is the best way to keep your breath fresh.  However, if you don’t want to bring a tooth brush to work, the breath strips do a pretty good job of keeping your breath fresh.  Use them after coffee, and after eating – especially when you eat food seasoned with garlic, or after sushi.  Cathy always reminds me when I have wasabi breath.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  It’s the little things that mark you as a well groomed person.  Too many people don’t pay enough attention to their breath.  Bad breath is not pleasant.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  “Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.”  Brushing can be inconvenient, so I recommend the breath strips.  I always encourage my career success coach clients to avoid gum.  It can sweeten your breath, but it also makes you look unsophisticated. 

That’s my take on the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, you have my deepest thanks for reading.

Bud