You’ve got your foot in the door and set up an interview at your dream place of employment, congrats! Now make sure that you don’t get that door slammed back in your face. Let’s face it, in today’s tough economic environment, there are bound to be more individuals than just you that are qualified for the position you are going after. Therefore, you have to stand out from the crowd and make the interviewer like you more than the other potential candidates.

This starts with first impressions and believes me the interviewer will either like you or dislike you within the first five minutes. It all depends on how you act and what you do.

When you first meat your potential employer look them straight in the eyes, smile, and give them a firm handshake. Sounds simple enough, but you would be surprised how many people can botch this up.

Follow these simple rules:

• Solid handshake: Don’t crush their hand; nothing says go on to the next candidate like a sore hand. On the flip side, don’t give them a ‘dead-fish’ handshake either. Whenever someone gives me on of these weak handshakes, the first thing I think is that they too are probably weak.
• Look into their eyes: Let them know you can be trusted. If you are looking away or shifting your gaze, you can come off as evasive and have the interviewer wondering what you have to hide.
• Smile: Show those pearly whites! This will put both you and the interviewer at ease.

Remember, smile, look them in the eyes, and crush them with your charm, not your handshake. While following these steps won’t guarantee you the job, it will at least guarantee you that the interviewer will like you enough to listen to you. Then it is simply a matter of selling yourself.