[Impression Management] The Art of a Good First Impression

On Thursday night we invited our brand-new members to attend our very first workshop of the year, Impression Management. We spent the evening learning about the do's and don'ts of a strong first impression, as well as key tips to bring to networking events and interviews.

Two of our members share their experiences:

"Don’t cross your legs or arms when trying to negotiate something. Always have business cards in hand when going to a networking event. Ask questions after an interview and send a follow-up email to an interviewer. All that and so much more you missed, if you didn’t attend the first YWiB SFU workshop this year!

What could be better than spending Thursday evening interacting with fellow YWiBers and improving your communication skills? After chatting around for a bit members and guests were seated for an exciting talk from stunning Margaret Page, speaker, author, and coach. Margaret shared all tips and tricks on how to maximize your personal impact. Three simple steps to start off are: 1. Be fully present 2. Compliment others 3. Leave situations/conditions better than you found them.

The second speaker opened our eyes on interviews and networking. Anda Prunianu is a campus recruitment specialist from Deloitte. Anda works with students all the time so her hints were very relevant and helpful! Always do your research before going for an interview, relax and be yourself. "

Sasha Rudenko YWiB SFU member @sash_ru

"I had the privilege to attend YWIB SFU's Impression Management Workshop on Wednesday evening. I was impressed with the set up, organization and the choice of speakers who came to talk to us. Margaret Page, a well known etiquette coach, gave us wonderful tips on how to make a lasting impression when we first meet someone. This is important especially as students looking to get into the job market.  What stood out for me after listening to Margaret was "to be fully present when engaging with others" and  "to always leave situations/conditions better than we found them." She also advised us to get people talking about themselves by asking them questions, as this will leave a great impression to the people we speak to. Anda from Deloitte  gave us great tips to enhance our interview and networking skills. She told us to be prepared by researching before hand  when walking into an interview or networking event. We should always have a goal in mind when attending networking events. Anda encouraged us to ask intelligent questions to our  interviewers and to follow up after interviews. The Impression Management workshop  was a great learning workshop for me."

T'sharzzi Ngaira YWiB SFU member @tsharzzi

We are so grateful for Margaret Page and Anda Prunianu for coming and sharing their stories with us. For more info on Maragaret, check out her website here. You can connect with Anda on LinkedIn here. 

As always, we are infinitely grateful to our sponsors, whom without we could not put on such high caliber events. Special thanks to The Beedie School of Business, Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Unilever Canada