I still remember the day six months ago when a good friend of mine called me up to tell me about this new junior-level employee she wanted to hire.  I had never heard my friend, the director of the tourism division at a global advertising agency, sound this jazzed about a potential new employee. 

Apparently, at twenty-four, the woman was as well dressed, confident, and smoothly professional as anyone my friend had met within the senior ranks.  In the interview, her answers were more coherent and thoughtful than my friend could have come up with herself, and she had taken the time to research my friend’s accounts as well as the other individuals on her staff.  My friend didn’t have the budget to hire this amazing young woman, but she would make the funds appear out of thin air if she had to.  She was that impressed.

After pulling a few strings internally, my friend brought the young woman on.  No sooner than she was on the payroll, however, the new hire changed her tune.  She asked to take three days of vacation in her first month, belittled the group’s assistant, and complained about assignments she thought were beneath her.  The other employees in the group wised up quickly, but my friend didn’t want to believe the young woman wasn’t the super-hire she thought.  Deeply uncomfortable with the idea that her first impression might have been incorrect, my friend closed her eyes and ears to behavior that contradicted her original assumptions, and made excuse after excuse for the girl when confronted about her.  

A few days ago, my friend told me she’d finally let the young woman go after her own boss approached her about the young woman’s lack of professionalism.  She was bewildered by the extent of her own denial, and admitted that the girl’s bad attitude should have gotten her booted months ago.

This story speaks to the incredible power of a first impression.  Once someone forms an opinion of you based on an initial interaction, that opinion becomes enormously difficult to change.  First impressions can work for good or for evil.  If your boss likes you a lot, he’s much more likely to give you a pass on a botched project.  On the other hand, if you change departments and don’t hit it off with your new colleagues right away, fitting in might be an uphill battle.

The lesson?  When you start a new job or meet new people at work, pay attention to your appearance, be careful about what you say and do, and don’t take anything for granted.  And once you’ve nailed an introduction, keep reinforcing the person’s positive opinion. Your reputation depends on it.