Sometimes, there is only one thing we have to leave a good impression on the first meeting: time. It does not matter what the situation is – the job interview, the date, meeting with partners, whatever – the way you present yourself serves as the first possibility to get to know you as a person.
That’s why getting the maximum effect from your introduction creates the primary common understanding, plus it makes them interested in everything you’ll say further.
We meet people every day. And the result of this meeting depends on the first impression you make. The way you demonstrate your personality during the first meeting defines how your interlocutor will interpret how you move forward, even if it does not correctly reveal your nature.
Especially the first impression plays an important role in cases when the time is limited. For example, the job interview. Here, as a rule, you have thirty minutes to impress the HR manager or the employer positively. You have to show your professional skills, highlight your strengths and weaknesses. You are one-on-one with the person who is responsible for whether you are accepted or not.
The job interview can be an important milestone in life. Imagine how scary it would be if you could forget all the necessary things during the first meeting? Using this article as a guide will help to avoid this problem!
How to introduce yourself professionally sample
There are two ways that you can take advantage of when meeting people: direct introduction and indirect introduction. It does not matter which method you decide on – both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. The difference lies only in what tone of voice is used, as well as the volume (which may seem odd, but it does make a difference). Sometimes, the first impression is more important than common sense. It can even alter your life!
The indirect introduction
This method of introducing yourself is the most widespread today. In fact, we use this kind of help just every day – in the form of titles and subtitles. The indirect introduction makes an emphasis on what you do, not on who you are as a person. The advantage of this method is that you can relax a little bit. This gives you the opportunity to better prepare yourself because you do not have to think about how your interlocutor will take what you’re going to say. The disadvantage of indirect presentation is that it may seem cold and too formal for some people. To decide which one is more suitable for a specific meeting, introverts should use this kind of approach.
The direct introduction
A direct way of introducing yourself means focusing on who you are instead of what you do. People tend to be interested in other people more than in their achievements or work experience. There are three options: using first name basis (this form might sound familiar), using titles, using both forms at once.
You can use the first name basis if you are familiar with each other (for example, colleagues, friends). Using it only in situations like this is not good for your own career development. It might seem rude to formals and professionals.
If you want to maintain a feeling of intimacy, the titles are suitable. However, using them together with first names might seem too formal or even silly. You should be aware that it is more common nowadays to use both forms at once (first names + titles) than only one form.
Now we’ll give four significant steps that will help you introduce yourself professionally sample.
- First of all, you need to take into account the context of the first meeting. If you’re on the date, professional self-introduction will not be appropriate. Besides, you must not speak casually at the business meeting or job interview like you do on the date. That’s why beforehand, you should carefully think about the context of the meeting and, depending on this choosing the approach. The self-introduction situations can be various – job interviews, meeting new colleagues, first day at college or university, etc.
- Secondly, during self-presentation, we recommend using positive body language. People do not fully realize it, but body language has a very important meeting. Positive language use attracts your interlocutor to the other side of everything you’ll say. The examples of positive language use are the following – smiling, shaking hands, eye contact, etc.
- The third step is to share a little information about yourself. The successful presentation depends on how mutually the two parties exchange the information. It means that you need to speak and listen equally. And it refers to all kinds of situations. You need to say some words about your past jobs and describe the duties and progress on the job interview. So, it does not matter what the situation is; you need to share some key facts about yourself to attract your interlocutor.
- And the last step is asking questions. This way, you’ll show interest in your communicator or professional post, plus it makes them give more positive answers. Besides, it also helps easily transition from self-presentation to lighter conversation. It’s recommended to ask such questions as “Why do you like to work there?”, “What difficulties I will have while working on this post?”, “What are the criteria to measure the work progress?, etc.
Now we’ll give some advice on how to present yourself successfully:
- Wear good clothes: With good clothes, you’ll not only present yourself in a professional light but also make a positive impression. Like it’s said in the famous phrase – good clothes open all doors.
- Demonstrate self-confidence: Employers hire self-confident people who know how to reach professional success. That’s why during the job interview (and in other various situations), you need to demonstrate healthy self-confidence in everything you do now and will do in the future.
- Find the opportunities to continue the discussion: As a rule, the presentation takes several minutes. During that time, one of the parties can get bored. That’s why you need to find opportunities to continue the discussion. For example, your interlocutor says that he’s recently listened to Adele's new album. You can leave your comment on this or say something about the music in general.
These recommendations are typical for most introduction cases. And now we’ll deeply discuss how to introduce yourself professionally sample.
The job introduction differs from other self-presentation cases. And here, to attract the employer’s attention, you need to consider the following:
- Review the organization and the interviewer: Before going to the job interview, we recommend researching the organization. Firstly, review their website and social media accounts (if they have them). After that, you need to search for information about the interviewer – whether he’s the HR manager or your potential boss. You can also look for their biography to know the things they value the most during the self-presentation. If the third-party HR manager interviews you, this recommendation will not work.
- Give up-to-date information and do it briefly: The job description serves as the last crib of the qualifications you need to promote during the interview. So, here, you do not need to tell the whole story of your life. You need to choose one of the most important up-to-date aspects and briefly talk about it. This way, you’ll show the employer that you can set priorities and fit the position.
- Speak about your achievements and contributions: Instead of telling the whole story of your life, you need to tell why you’ve chosen this sphere, some exciting stories, your career achievements, and what contributions you’ve made. This way, you’ll underline your knowledge, skills, plus your passion for the job. And the employer will value it.
- Don’t make mistakes: There are two mistakes that the candidates make during the job interview. The first is to stop short at the position’s name. If the candidate simply names himself and the title of the position, this way, he says that there are no exciting details about him, and he’s not a good candidate for the post. The other big mistake is to seem to be funny. Of course, humor is great, but here, it’s not appropriate. At this stage, you do not know your employer well, plus you do not have any idea about the things he considers funny and not. We do not say you need to be boring. We say that you need to look into the eyes, smile, be warm and open. Keep the jokes to yourself for a while.
- Show your flexibility: It’s important to show how flexible you are. Organizational changes happen at any stage of the business life cycle, and employees need to transfer their skills in new areas quickly. If you can demonstrate that you can easily move from one project to another, it will be much better than telling about all your experience with multiple projects.
- Tell about yourself but not too long: You do not have time to tell everything about yourself so prepare for this case beforehand. Make sure to know the things you want to say before an interview. But do not tell them in a monolog format because it will seem like repeating the same thing again and again without getting anywhere.
