How we look will confirm or contradict what we say. Imagine someone in a policeman's uniform at your door telling you he's come to read gas meter, I doubt if you'd believe him. First impressions are also lasting impressions and take a lot of changing.

Okay, so we can't all have perfect looks or perfect body, what ever that is. It doesn't matter what shape you are but it does matter how you package that shape, if you want to make an impact on other people.

How you package yourself can also make a huge difference to your self-confidence. Have you ever noticed how confident and self-assured you feel when you dress in something you feel good in? Particularly when someone genuinely compliments you. How you dress can have a huge impact on how you carry yourself and project to other people.

The problem is that many of us don't have a clue as to what really suits us and compliments our shape. This is why so many business people are turning to an image consultant to improve their personal impact. This may seem like a costly luxury however consider cost of restricting your career or possibly not winning a new account.

Dress down Friday is a particular challenge for men. The temptation for many guys is to pull on an old pair of chinos and a worn out polo shirt and hope for best. The only thing is you end up looking scruffy and certainly don't impress anyone.

So what do you do? Well you could ask your nearest and dearest to be honest with you and tell you what they really think about what you wear. The thing is, you really need to listen and take heed of what they say. Buy some of fashion magazines and keep up to date on latest fashion. It can also help to find a good clothes store where sales assistants will give unbiased advice.

It's also important to look after details. Do your spectacles suit your face? Are you in need of a more modern haircut? What does that cheap plastic watch say about you? Men need to be careful about novelty ties and fancy socks with a business suit. Women need to take care with make-up, colours and perfume.

You may have a lot more to offer than a jar of anti wrinkle cream or a packet of cornflakes; however no one is going to pick you off shelf if they don't like your packaging.

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Eye contact. Always, and I mean always, look your interviewer in eye when answering a question. You don’t have to stare them down like two dogs looking for other to back down, but keep focused on person’s face. I always make lots of eye contact when I talk to people, not just because I want to make sure they are following me and listening, but because you can really read a person by looking into their eyes. This shows sincerity, honesty, friendliness, respect and alertness.

Be prepared. Always carry a few extra copies of your resume, cover letter and letters of reference. Even if company already has a copy of these, bring them anyways. You never know when an interviewer may ask you for your resume because they forgot to bring their copy into room. In addition, make sure you know something about company you’re hoping to work for. Having knowledge of company shows you are serious about working there and have basic research skills.

Use proper language. Never use slang or ‘uh-uh’ and ‘nah’. One of my pet peeves is when people keep grunting out ‘uh-uh’ all time instead of just saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. If you let too many ‘yeas’ and ‘uh-uhs’ into interview, your going to be looked at as a person who doesn’t show respect to superior management or who lacks business etiquette.

If you have a habit of doing this, start catching yourself when you do this. Train yourself to start saying ‘Yes…Certainly…By all means…I’m afraid I can’t…Unfortunately….etc.‘ and soon you’ll be talking like professional.

Look and act professional and you will be treated as such. Show respect and you’ll earn respect. Once you’ve got these basic commons sense tactics down, you are more than 80% there. The rest is just tweaking and practice.

Jeremy Gislason is the Vice President of JobDiscover.com and has over 15 years of business and marketing experience.