What’s the first impression you want to give people?
Out of 250+ MBA candidates in my batch, some were considered unimpressive. Lack of confidence, communication and energy at that point made most of the people believe them as failures. I met my friend Sui, one among this group with low self-esteem, low self-confidence and a lack of communication skills.
The fallacy of our assumption is that people’s skills, beliefs, energy level, confidence level, dressing sense, body structure etc. that form the first impression are static, hence the person will remain so for a long time. But unlike the popular notion, all these are elements one can learn, build and improve upon a period.
Sui was under tremendous mental stress and her image was dented. Her impression among the batch mates was not up to the mark. Many used to mock her and that further pushed her to a deeper negative mental state. At some point, she thought of committing suicide.
I believed in Sui and peer-mentored her to build a personal brand. As we had numerous 1 to 1 discussions, and cocreated a strategy for improving holistically, Sui took massive and immediate actions to execute the strategy. By the sophomore year, she started to meaningfully contribute in group discussions. Towards the placement season, she was ready to appear in the campus interviews. Today she is a successful banker, achieved multiple promotions, can confidently navigate her career and is reasonably successful in life.
He who took a negative and lasting impression of Sui as a failure could hardly believe her transformation as they took a snap judgment rather than looking to impact, inspire and influence her. Sui is not alone. I have mentored numerous such individuals by believing in them rather than judging them based on the perception of them by the majority.
Not the first impression, but I believe in the first impact for deset of mindset for growth. Let me know your valued thoughts in a comment.
