Poor Laurence! His Magical Journey has closed for good because one of its financial backers got cold feet. Because it was rubbish? No. Because it had made a bad first impression.

True, things got off to a very poor start, but the management shut up shop and made improvements, and the experience was a lot better after that (according to general opinion and my wife, who went last weekend).

But once people get hold of something, that’s it. Especially these days, where a massive public audience is only a tweet away. Everyone is vulnerable to this, and especially those in the public eye.

So first impressions count, and they tend to stick.

How can we apply this to the job seeking situation? Some of these tips are obvious, but they bear repeating.

• Be very careful how you represent yourself online. An inappropriate Facebook profile that can be found by potential employers may well count against you.
• Dress appropriately for interviews. If in doubt, be smart.
• Get someone else to check over your cv and covering letter before applying for jobs or making them publicly available online.
• Practise your handshake.
• Think about your body language.
• Rehearse your presentation, if you’re making one.
• Don’t be late for your interview. An hour early is better than a minute late.
• Err on the side of caution with visible body art and hairstyle.

We see these rules broken all the time! So make a good first impression and you’re halfway there.

And if your elves must smoke, make sure they do it out of sight.