You never want to hand someone a “dead fish”. They’ll remember that, and it could cloud out everything else. And it’s more than just grip you have to worry about. 


1. Keep your palm dry.

OK, if at an interview maybe you’re a little nervous, maybe you just ran three blocks because your GPS messed up again and to avoid being late etc. etc. but keep those palms dry. Early and often. 


2. Use your right hand.

Sorry lefties, whoever decided handshake etiquette has chosen the right hand.


3. Firm grip

Nothing that would break the collarbone of a chicken (even if a chicken had one) but again avoid the dead fish. We’ve all gotten one, it’s a cosmically unsatisfactory feeling. 


4. Fingers receive palm.

It’s almost like a palm exchange. Be respectful of the palm, cradle it in your fingers!


5. Two to three up and downs with unwavering eye contact (2 seconds)

This is where you need to do two things well. Your smile has to seem normal and relaxed while your shake should convey a little vigor or excitement about meeting the person.

OK, now let go, but there’s a moment after letting go that also needs good steady form. If this is a handshake before an interview, this is the moment you hand yourself over and let your interviewer dictate where you’ll be sitting. So you want to show you’re comfortable handing over the controls to them (so to speak). Getting all this down starts the interview smoothly, like a horse breaking nicely from the gate.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at fortune 1000 firms worldwide.