How do you want them to see you on day one? To be effective, you also have to take into consideration who your audience is, what do they care most about. For most of the interviewers, their first impressions of you will be influenced by their own agendas. You're focused on your own ambitions, but your arrival automatically means change for everyone you will be working with.
Some of them will be happy about the change, others concerned about what it could mean for them. This is especially true for those most impacted by your arrival, your manager, your direct reports, internal clients, and partners. From the minute you show up, they're thinking, "Do you seem smart and capable?
Do you seem like someone I can work with? Will you make my life harder or easier? Do you have the right attitude and values? Are you likely to make problems for me?"
To make the strongest first impression, think first about what qualities you want to convey about yourself right out of the gate.
Be strategic: Emphasise the strengths and experience that are most important for the job. This helps you establish credibility and head off any concerns about your ability to step into the role.
Be authentic. You'll want to prepare some speaking points and use those talking points as an outline, not a script. If you come across as too slick and self-promotional, it will limit your ability to connect.
Be confident. It's important to convey confidence even if you have to fake it a bit. If you're confident, you're more likely to win their confidence too. Confidence is particularly important for conveying executive presence in a more senior role. Be respectful. Don't be a know it all. Come in ready to listen and learn.
It's easy to turn people off with too much arrogance or self-importance. Be enthusiastic. Make it clear that you're happy to be there and excited to get started. In order to translate these recommendations into a strong first impression, you need a good introduction.
Take some time to outline your introduction bullet points in advance. You will be meeting a lot of new people during the interview stage, so it will be helpful to have a consistent elevator pitch intro to get things off on the right foot.