So, let’s be straight about something to begin with in this article. There is no way to know for sure that you have successfully gotten a job from a good interview until you hear back from the employer. You can do your absolute best, be perfect for the role and still get pipped to the post by someone with more experience and that’s fine, it’s all part of the interviewing process and life. However, there are a few things you can look out for to help you have an idea of whether the interview at least went well. So in this article we are going to look at 5 things we think you should look for if you want to know if you had a good interview.
- Look at the body language of the interviewer.
Body language can tell you a lot about whether someone likes you or not. Did the interviewer smile a lot? Did they laugh at any jokes you may have made? Was their body language open, arms unfolded and relaxed, or were they very tense and closed up? This of course could just be the persona that the interviewer wants to show (closed up might look more intimidating, for example) but you can get an idea at least if they liked you as a person from some of these examples.
- What did they say about contacting you?
At the end of the interview, sometimes the interviewer will tell you what happens next in the process regarding contacting you. Firstly, did they offer this information without you having to ask it as a question? This could mean that they are considering you subconsciously already and therefore want to prepare you for if they contact you. Did they mention specifically what would happen if you weren’t chosen? If that isn’t mentioned, that could also be a sign that they are considering you. Listen very carefully to the language they use at this point as it could give you a great idea of whether they are interested in you as a candidate or not.
- Speed of contact after the interview.
A lot of the time when an interview is successful the candidate will be contacted as soon as possible to offer the job. If you have not heard anything after about a week, you can generally assume you at least weren’t the first choice. You of course will need to consider what they have already said themselves about the next steps and when they would contact you. Use that as a rule and if you do not hear anything by that time assume you are not being offered the job. If you are contacted almost immediately, however, then the interview was almost definitely a good one.
- Did you have a rapport with the interviewer?
Were they interested in any aspects of your life/personality? Did they ask any questions about you that weren’t necessarily relevant? Did you make a joke that made them laugh? There are a lot of ways to tell if you have a rapport with someone, generally if they are interested in you as a person as well as you as an employee then you know that you must have done something right!
- How did you feel that it went?
The best way to tell if your interview was a success is really to trust your gut instinct when you first walk out. Did you feel it went well? Or do you find yourself sitting there a few hours later and thinking ‘if only I had said this’ or ‘if only I hadn’t said that’? Your gut is almost always right on this, as your subconscious knows what a comfortable/relaxed environment is and what isn’t. So, when you walk out of the interview, ask yourself ‘do I feel that I could have done that any better?’ and when you have your answer to that, you’ll know whether it was a success or not.
It is a simple fact that a lot of the time going for an interview is a bit like playing a game. You don’t know who else is playing or what their skills are. You can only try your hardest to win and if you don’t then you shouldn’t blame yourself. All you can do is keep trying until eventually you become the one with the advantage. Until then, good luck!
