Two days ago I was flying home (my temporary home in Amsterdam) from London, and my traveling buddy and I met a really nice fella, we'll call him Daniel. Earlier on our trip we had met another nice fella who we'll call Danny. The two were COMPLETELY different, both interesting nice guys but from just the 15-20 minutes spent talking to each I feel like I have a pretty clear picture of their character and with some degree of certainty could predict their likes and what their behavior might be when they are placed into different scenarios. 

That said… I think they both got a fairly clear picture of me too. Though now that I've evaluated it - I don't think I gave Daniel my best possible impression. I have a head cold, and we were in a plane so my ears were clogged. I couldn't hear the conversation he and my traveling buddy were having so I didn't participate much, and when I did it was basically one-liners. On top of that I was wearing what I will politely call 'comfy' clothes. 

If I have to estimate his opinion of me… sloppy, sarcastic, maybe funny… the things I can certainly say he did NOT gather in his opinion about me that are in fact true include that I am professional, well educated, and could be an asset to his company. If he was looking to hire someone he was most likely NOT going to consider me for the position. 

Everyday is full of possibilities and thinking about this situation makes me aware that I need to show the world what I want it to see. I want to appear put together, professional and like someone he would fight to hire. 

You only have 30 seconds to make a positive first impression, take control of how you are perceived.