Consider for a moment how your phone is currently being answered. Professional courtesy is quite often not the standard for many college students. An abrupt “Yeah!” could be listed among the more courteous greetings. The more outrageous remarks will often buy you a major black mark in the professionalism category—even if it was your roommate acting crazy. A simple, “This is ____” is always a pleasant change for the average college dorm room or apartment. Make the change today, before the next (or first) employer phone call. You should also encourage your roommate to do the same.

First impressions do count. Make yours a good one.

One final note on phone etiquette: if you (or any of your roommates) persist in the use of creative phone answering lines (“Sam’s Mortuary, you stab ’em, we slab ’em”), just remember that the click you hear on the other end of the line may be the sound of your dream job being passed on to Contestant #2.

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