Last year, Mr. Kaye says, turnover at his firm was less than 10percent, while the recruiting-industry standard is 50percent to 100percent. If you're looking for someone for customer service, you're looking for someone with a high level of patience, such as in a call center, where they're dealing with complaints. Someone with low patience has a high sense of urgency, and is probably good for a sales position. Projecting a message That doesn't mean someone readying for a first interview can neglect the cosmetic. Ms. Warfield's clients typically are businesspeople who are gunning for promotions or who want to make more effective sales presentations or negotiations.
Image seems to have universal interpretations.
Ms. Warfield says she frequently silences those who complain that their work should speak for them by showing photographs of two men, one dressed in short sleeves, the other in a natty suit. Then, she asks the group to come up with words describing the men. She's been using the presentation for a decade both in the United States and abroad, she says, and invariably the same words are used. The lesson, she says, is that certain images are a lingua franca, so you'd better be conscious of what message you project. Women also tend to hold eye contact longer and look more at body language for clues than men, she says.