By Jacquelyn Brookins, Guest Contributor

Job Seekers- listen up! With the tough competition in the job market today, you can’t risk making a poor first impression with employers. Chances are, if you do, you won’t have an opportunity to make a second one. Although a recruiter is not the actual hiring manager, you’ll still want to make a good impression: whether we want to admit it, as we all know, first impressions are everything. If you flub, the recruiter won’t find you valuable enough to filter up to the hiring manager and more than likely, you will not be contacted in the future.