How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence

Fearless Interviewing

Your Handshake

By now, you’re beaming with an ear-to-ear smile, and you look
fabulous! The next signal to the employer is your handshake. In
every seminar I give, I actually have the participants practice
shaking hands, after which they give each other feedback.
Is it (like the story of Goldilocks and the three bears) too soft?
Too hard? Or, just right? There is almost nothing worse than a
noncommittal “dead-fish” handshake. We’ve all felt them, and
there is just something intuitively unpleasant about them. On the
other hand, the macho-rearrange-your-finger-bones handshake
is not too appealing either. Your handshake signals to the interviewer
that you are about to do business.If it feels, unconsciously, like a
halfway committed or overly competitive handshake, you will not
be getting off to the right start.

• A firm handshake, using the whole hand in the other
  person’s hand, is an appropriate business handshake.


• There is no reason to shake a woman’s hand any differ-
  ently than you would shake a man’s hand. Firm and busi-
  nesslike is the rule to remember.

Many people, both men and women, have no idea how their
handshake feels to other people. I strongly suggest that you prac-
tice it with a few friends or family members and ask for their hon-
est feedback. Keep testing different strengths and positions until
you and the other person feel comfortable.

Your Greeting

Okay, so I’ve asked you to grin at strangers and pump a few peo-
ple’s arms. What could possibly be next, you wonder? Riding a
horse backward? Scaling the face of a mountain? Well, you’re off
the hook. Fortunately, those are not the skills you need to suc-
ceed at most interviews. The next four points are very easy and
require no extracurricular practice:

1. Address the interviewer as Ms. or Mr., and introduce
   yourself by your first and last names. It will sound some-
   thing like, “Hello, Mr. Isaacs. I’m Susan Sallinger. Thank