Limp handshake spells career suicide

Deborah Walker:

We’ve all heard stories of job candidates who looked great on paper but who were absolute disasters in person. With fewer and fewer interview opportunities available in this competitive market, it’s essential to make the best possible first impression. You can learn from the mistakes of others and avoid interview blunders.

• Poor handshake: The thr-ee-second handshake that starts the interview is your first opportunity to create a great impression. But all too often an interview is blown right from the start by an ineffective handshake. Once you’ve delivered a poor handshake, it’s nearly impossible to recover your efforts to build rapport. Here are some examples:

The limp hand (or ‘dead fish’): Gives the impression of disinterest or weakness

The tips of fingers: Shows lack of ability to engage.

The arm pump: Sincerity is questionable, much like an overly aggressive salesman.

• Talking too much: I abhorred over-talkative candidates. So did most of my client employers. Over-talking takes a couple of forms:

Taking too long to answer direct questions: The impression is “This candidate just can’t get to the point”.

Nervous talkers: The impression is “This candidate is covering up something or lying”.

• Talking negatively about current or past employers: The fastest way to talk yourself out of a new job is to say negative things. Even if your last boss was Attila the Hun, never, never state your ill feelings about him/her. No matter how reaso-nable your complaints, you will come out the loser as the interviewer will assume you would similarly trash him or her.

• Showing up late or too early: One of the first lessons in job-search etiquette is to show up on time for interviews. Many job-seekers don’t realise, however, that showing up too early often creates a poor first impression as well. Arriving more than 10 minutes early for an interview is a dead giveaway that the job seeker has too much time on his or her hands.

• Treating the receptionist rudely: Since the first person you meet on an interview is usually a receptionist, this encounter represents the first impression you’ll make. Don’t mistake low rank for low input.

Verbal ticks: An ill-at-ease candidate seldom makes a good impression. The first signs of nervousness are verbal ticks. We all have them from time to time — “umm,” “like,” “you know”.You can avoid verbal ticks by pausing for a few seconds to gather your thoughts before each response.

Not enough/too much eye contact: Either situation can create a negative effect. Avoid eye contact and you’ll seem untruthfu, or disnterested; offer too much eye contact, and you’ll wear the interviewer out.

Failure to match communication styles: If the interviewer seems all business, don’t attempt to loosen him/her up with a joke or story. Be succinct and businesslike If the interviewer is personable, try discussing his/her interests. Often the items on display in the office can offer a clue.

Just as a strong resume wins you an opportunity to interview, strong interview skills will win you consideration for the job.

Job hunting blunders

Sue Campbell:

So, you are out in the market for a job. It is not easy. Read on to know what to avoid while going about your search.

Mistake #1: Not having job search tools in order

When is the best time to get your job search tools in order? Long before you need them, and best when you’re currently employed. In fact, the smartest job hunters update their resumes regularly with each and every new responsibility and achievement they attain, as these occur (while the information is fresh and accessible), with the understanding that career management is an ongoing, ever-evolving process.

When the next opportunity presents itself you want to be ready. Just ask the thousands who have been downsized in recent years.

Mistake #2: Not getting in the game

As important as it is to have your tools in order, focusing too long or too hard on perfecting these tools — and not getting in the game —is self-defeating. Take, for example, the stonecutter sharpening his axe, in anticipation of turning a piece of granite into a work

of art. Each day he sharpens his axe. Each day the granite waits.

Get your job tools ready — but then get in the game!

Mistake #3: Networking only when need arises

You’ve probably heard the old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Well, that’s changed. Today it’s “Who you know, what you know, and how often you put the two together.”

Mistake #4: Wrongh focus

When you’re job hunting, it’s an undeniable fact that you’re selling and marketing a product (you) to a targeted market (potential employer). A potential employer wants to know what you bring to the table, why hiring you will benefit him/her and the company. S/He wants to know how you’re going to make a valuable contribution — and hopefully, immediately. What you hope to gain from the experience is only of interest again.

Mistake #5: Being less than truthful

Simply put, if you don’t have enough honest achievements to boast about in your current or last position, then: 1) find a better position where you can make a real contribution, and/or 2) work harder to be an exemplary employee.

Mistake #6: Quitting too early

Potential employers view employed candidates as having greater hiring value. Unemployed candidates often make job decisions based on an immediate need (income relief, etc), rather than on whether the potential position fits well with their true skills, current career goals, or long-term career plans.

Mistake #7: Negotiating poorly

“How much does this position pay?” “What are the employee benefits?” “How much vacation time can I expect?” should be the last questions you ask a potential employer. And the other mistake is failing to follow up.

An Applicant must not

• Ask too many questions/asking personal questions.

• Answer a cell phone during a job interview.

• Wear so much cologne/perfume that the interviewer’s eyes water.

• Order the cheapest item on the menu at a meal, which is insulting to your host.

• Chew gum.

• Make politically incorrect comments — taboo topics include religion, politics, sex and money.

• Wear a skirt so short that it’s indecent when you sit down.

• Flirt with the interviewer or other people in the company.

Look before you change lanes

Barbara Reinhold:

Changing careers is never easy. Half the world thinks you’ve lost your mind, headhunters say you’ll never work again and your mother-in-law contributes the old “I told you so” routine. Regardless of your career-change strategy, never make these mistakes:

• Don’t look for a job in another field without some intense introspection: Nothing is worse than leaping before you look. Make sure you’re not escaping to a field that fits you just as poorly as your last.

• Don’t go into a field because your friend is doing well in it: Get thorough information about the fields you’re considering by networking, reading and doing online research. Having informational interviews with alumni from your college, colleagues, friends or family is a fun way to get the scoop on different fields.

• Don’t stick to possibilities: Stretch your perception of what might work for you. Read some job profiles and explore career fields you learn about from self-assessment exercises.

• Don’t let money be the deciding factor: There’s not enough money in the world to make you happy if your job doesn’t suit you. Workplace dissatisfaction and stress is the number-one health problem for working adults. This is particularly true for career changers, who often earn less until they get their sea legs in a different field.

• Don’t try to make the switch alone: This is the time to talk to people (probably not your boss just yet). Friends, family and colleagues need to know what’s going on so they can help you tap into that large percentage of jobs that aren’t advertised.

• Don’t expect a career counselor to tell you which field to enter: Career advisors are facilitators, and they’ll follow your lead. They can help ferret out your long-buried dreams and talents, but you’ll have to do the research and the decision making by yourself. Anyone who promises to tell you what to do is dangerous.

• Don’t expect to switch overnight: A thorough career change usually will take a minimum of six months to pull off, and the time frequently stretches to a year or more.

Changing fields is one of the most invigorating things you can do. It’s like experiencing youth all over again, except with the wisdom of whatever age you are now.