7 Signs Your Interview Went Well

The interview period is a stressful process; there is no questioning that — and one of the most difficult parts of the process can be once the interview is over. Yes, that limbo period between the end of interview and hearing whether or not you are going to receive a job or interview offer can be excruciating. And all that you can do it sit there and bite your nails, going over the good and bad points of the the interview, while stressing out and fearing the worst or hoping for the best.

But, although you have no cast iron way of telling whether or not you impressed the interviewer there are 6 signs that the interview well. You can see these signs below.

1. The interviewer is specific about how and when they will be in touch; if the interviewer gives you a firm time frame as to when you will hear from the company, rather than being vague about when they will get in touch, this is a good sign. If they mention the day they will be in touch by, even better, and if the time frame is hours (24-48 hours) or even days as opposed to weeks, these are also good signs. The shorter the time frame the better. If they mention the name of the person who will be in touch, and explain the means of contact, such as email or phone, these are great signs. And finally, if they ask you to reconfirm your email address and or mobile, then I would say ‘ding ding’, you may have knocked them out with your performance.

2. The Interview takes longer than planned. Generally, if the interview was shorter than expected, then this is a pretty good sign the interview did not go well. Many interviewers actively close down interviews as soon as they feel the candidate is not right, preferring not to waste each other’s time. Generally, therefore if the interviewer takes longer than expected, and they start to explore more areas of your skill set than were originally asked for, it means the interviewer was most likely very interested in what you had to say. This is another good sign.

3. You talk about personal items and make jokes; if the interviewer engages in idle chit chat following the interview, it means the interviewer wants to know more about you as they may be visualizing you in the role. If you feel you have struck it off personally and built a rapport with the interviewer, this is another good sign? Why? Because, there is a well known tendency for interviewers to favour candidates who have a similar outlook, which can sometimes cause them to overlook weaknesses. It is an interviewer or rather human failing which can work in your favour if you have good rapport with the interviewer.

4. You meet the team; it is a very good sign if the interviewer chooses to introduce you to the team or some peers within the business before you leave the building, especially if this is unplanned. It generally means that they are keen on you and want to seize the opportunity to get second opinions to confirm their positive thoughts about you.

5. You discuss the problems of the role in forensic detail. If you find that the interviewer discloses some of the real problems/challenges associated with the role, then this is a sign that they are visualizing you in the role. They generally would not bother going into forensic detail relating to the challenges of the role if they didn’t think you were capable of handling it.

6. You brainstorm and create solutions to their current challenges; if you and the hiring manager begin identifying and tackling the problems associated with the role and start agreeing solutions and strategies to remedy the issue, this is also a strong sign that things went well. This is because the interviewer is beginning to visualize you succeeding in the role. They are beginning to believe you can make a success of the role, which is the first step towards them selecting you for the role.

7. They ask for details such as your up-to-date references and for you to confirm your desired salary and your notice period. These are all strong signs that they are visualizing you in the role, meaning that you may soon be on the end of a job or 2nd interview offer.

If you are still struggling to perform well at interview, I recommend that you download my powerful interview coaching e-book, titled, 9 Essential Steps to Prepare For Interview.

Written by An Experienced HR Professional, This Interview Preparation Guide Optimizes Your Interview Performance, and increases your chance of being hired, by enabling you to both pre-empt and prepare for questions that you are likely to be asked, and shows you how to answer those questions in the most optimal way. Download it today.