Interview Tip: A Good Handshake Helps … A Lot – Part 2

Interviewing is probably the toughest part of the job search process. You want to make a good impression because you’re hoping to get a job that could lead to a career. Having a good handshake is one way to make a positive first impression on a potential employer.
Although not having a good handshake probably won’t put you out of the running for the job you want, it may raise a few questions about your character or your personality. When I asked my experts about the importance of a good handshake, here’s what they had to say:
Janna DeMarco, branch sales manager for Today’s Office Professionals in Boston, Massachusetts said, “A firm handshake can convey confidence. Confidence in your ability to interview, it can display your interest in learning more about the company you are interviewing at and the person with whom you are interviewing. A firm handshake at the close of an interview is another method to let the company know that you are interested (want the job or are interested in the next phase of the interview process).”
“Someone with a firm handshake immediately sends an impression of being confident and emotionally strong,” offered Penny Queller, vice-president and group executive of business development for Spherion in Atlanta, Georgia. She added that interviewers can mistakes from faulty first impressions, so it’s in the candidate’s best interest to make a good first impression with a firm handshake as part of the mix. “When I was in college, I was in a professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. We taught pledges the importance of a firm handshake. The goal of the fraternity was to prepare business students for life after college. One of the first things we focused on was handshake!” Queller concluded.
But something Queller also said is that the handshake is the not “end all be all.” There’s so much more to a candidate than how well or poorly he shakes hands. And what if there’s an underlying reason for the lack of firmness in a candidate’s handshake?
“I used to believe a firm handshake was a must,” said Karen Wright, operations director for KMSU 89.7 FM, “and that limp handshakes made a bad impression. That was until I got carpal tunnel syndrome … and even the slightest pressure sent extreme pain up my arm. Sometimes I’d offer the other hand, or not shake hands at all and then explain. Therefore, I don’t believe a firm handshake is always necessary.”
Wright gives an excellent reason for recruiters and hiring managers not to jump to conclusions about a candidate because she doesn’t have a firm handshake. But Mark Stevens, founder of MSCO has an anecdote that probably says it all, “I spent a day with Bill [Gates] when Microsoft was a company of 3,000 people. Bill’s handshake was like grabbing a clump of badly overcooked spaghetti. He is perhaps the most important person of his generation. Enough said about the handshake-success equation.”
The End.

Originally posted by Candice A