A: make a first impression

No matter how illustrious our resumes, how brilliant our ideas, how Calvinist our work ethic, we are judged by how we present ourselves. Research shows that it takes four minutes to make a first impression, and, according to a widely cited study by UCLA professor Albert Mehrabian, body language accounts for 55% of that impression (38% comes from tone of voice, the remaining 7% from our actual words).