Making a Good First Impression on Colleagues

A big factor in how positive you’ll find your work experience is how well you get on with your colleagues. From how easily you’re able to work with them, to how easily polite conversation comes, your relationship with your colleagues can have a big impact. A big part of developing a good relationship with your colleagues is making a good first impression.

There have actually been a surprising number of studies which have been conducted into the matter of making good first impressions. Even when specifically talking about first impressions in the workplace, studies have a lot of data which we can apply to how we present ourselves.

A big part of making yourself appealing to other people is conforming quickly, as studies show. Adjusting your dress code to the way in which others in the workplace dress is one way of doing so. A few other tips are:

• Be positive.
• Learn your co-workers’ names quickly.
• Ask questions that show you’re engaged.
• Help with drink rounds.
• Avoid gossip.
• Listen more than you talk; don’t act like you know everything/more than your colleagues.