In less time than that one blink took, your next boss or client may have formed their opinion on you.
That may sound extreme, but first impressions are typically formed in around 0.129 of a second (for comparison, a blink takes around twice as long).
That’s why your personal PR is vital. Yet, repeatedly, people neglect it – including those in our sector.
How you look, how you dress, how your socials come across – when it comes to your career, these are your shop windows to a better future.
This month, Harvey & Hugo has been recruiting. The Pack is growing. By interview stage, we had some fantastic candidates – yet so many people fell needlessly at the first hurdle. Applications submitted that were riddled with typos. Or one sent from a LinkedIn account, with a profile picture more akin to something you’d have used on your very first MySpace page.
Now I know the world changes. Shirts are increasingly being swapped in offices for shackets.
Yet while styles change, presenting yourself as professional hasn’t.
It still matters, and that won’t change – and in PR, optics are everything.
And that’s the same for businesses. Your perception is everything, and in your business, that starts with you.
Remember – great PR isn’t just positive headlines.
It’s the story people tell themselves about you before you’ve had the chance to tell your own.
It’s the impression your website leaves. The confidence your LinkedIn profile inspires.
How you communicate. The warm smile when you meet someone. The attentive listening. The firm (but not too firm) handshake that silently instils trust in you.
How you present online and offline all form part of your personal PR and all matter when it comes to how people view you – and your business.
And that’s the thing about perception. You don’t get to decide what people think of you.
But you absolutely can influence it. For individuals, that means taking ownership of your personal brand.
Proofread your CV – or even better, get a second set of eyes on it.
Update the profile picture. You might have had the best time on Dave’s stag do, but is a pint in your hand really the optics you want to present to potential clients?
And think twice before posting something that might come back to bite you. That’s why clients increasingly outsource this to agencies like Harvey & Hugo.
Because PR isn’t just a quote in a magazine.
Your PR is your public ‘PRception’.
For businesses, it’s no different. You could have the best product or team on Earth, but if you and your brand don’t exude trust and professionalism at every point, customers will look elsewhere.
And in a world where opinions are formed in less than a blink of an eye – please – don’t leave that to chance.
www.harveyandhugo.com
