Page 126 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

As human beings, the minute we make contact, there is an
instant reaction. Something happens: it creates an impression.
If you come in, say confidently, ‘Nice to meet you, James,’ extend
your hand, grip mine with a dry, firm, solid handshake, look me
straight in the eye, I can’t help it: as a human being, I pick up a

positive, professional message. You are in control already.
I don’t want wet and woolly, but equally I don’t want to be
on the end of the bone-crusher handshake – both extremes will

send me a negative message. I’ve already got the wrong impres-
sion. My mind is telling me something, and you will have to
work harder to climb back up in my estimation again.

Breaking the ice

Before the interview gets into full swing, and you find yourself

trapped on the wrong end of a Q&A session, try and find
something that allows you to connect with the interviewer on a
personal level. As you come into their o≤ce, out of the corner of
your eye you might see a photograph – of their family, their kids,
some event, maybe a shot of them crossing the finishing line of

the London Marathon or the Great North Run. There’s your cue.
‘Oh, when did you take part in the marathon? I’m thinking of
going in for it next year’ – who’s going to know whether that’s

true or not! ‘Was the training worse than you thought? What
charity were you running to raise money for?’
In many of the companies I visit, I see an award has been
put up on the wall of an o≤ce: there’s another prompt just

114 get the job you really want