First impressions directly impact your ability to get hired for a job, impress the leaders at your organization, move up, and even connect with potential clients or investors. A matchmaker and executive coach offers a few tips around how to make a great one:

• Make sure your online profiles are on point — especially LinkedIn. This is what employers will likely look at first.
• Don’t take generic questions like “How are you?” too seriously. Before meeting someone new, ask yourself, “What do I want to share about myself early on that’s most important?”
• Be more interested than interesting. Research shows that expressing curiosity by asking thoughtful questions (without interrogating) makes the other person like you.