How to present yourself

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Any person you come across at the service will more than likely be members of staff there. These are the people you want to impress, by ensuring you look and sound the part. It is natural that we all make our own opinions, so you want to ensure the client is making a positive one about you based on a first impression. Some tips and notes for how to present yourself:

• Clothing – Dress well from head to toe, ensuring attention to detail such as having clean, ironed clothes, tidy and groomed hair, shoes clean and polished and appropriate business/ smart casual attire.
• Formal or Smart-Casual? – Plan your attire according to the client. If you are going into a small care home to meet a manager, then you can take more of a relaxed smart casual approach rather than if you were going into a larger mental health or NHS hospital, you should go dressed in a formal manner.
• Scent – Be aware of how you will come across in a face-to-face meeting, make a conscious effort to be aware of how certain smells can come across as offensive to different people such as stale smoke and body odour etc.
• Positive Mental Attitude – Having the right mindset is key to building rapport and having a successful meeting. If you are feeling negative this will come across in your personality, so always stay upbeat and positive.