10 Signs That Show Your Job Interview Went Well

You have attended the interview after a thorough preparation of the job interview questions and answers. Now you are asking yourself, ‘did my interview go well’? So, what are the signs your interview went well? How can you possibly tell till you hear from the company despite a thorough job interview preparation? Maybe, you shared a joke or two and had a good rapport with the hiring manager, but does that mean you’re hired?

Those days of waiting for a call after the interview can drive you nuts, especially if you did well in the interview.

• Related – Top 10 Things Not to do in a Job Interview
• Related – 12 Awesome Phone Interview Tips to Score the Maximum

Well, there are some tell tale signs that could indicate whether your interview went well or not with your interviewer. By analyzing these clues you can take a guess whether you’re likely to hear from the company with a job offer or not. All you need to do is connect the dots to get the answer. Check out these signs that tell you, you absolutely rocked it!

10 Signs That Show Your Interview Went Well

1. What are the signs an interview went well? Positive Body Language of the Interviewer

Look out for body language signs. This can be a real giveaway that your interview went well, if you know where to look.

• Your hiring manager nodded his head a lot while listening to your answers. Your answers brought a smile to his face.
• He made some other agreeable noises like Hmmm, meaning yes?
• He made strong and consistent eye contact with you while talking as opposed to leaning back with arms folded? The former is a sure sign that it’s in the bag!
• He gave you his undivided attention, without attending to phone calls or text messages.
• On the other hand, if you saw him yawning or fidgeting or making vague and inappropriate responses, pointing fingers at you, sitting with folded hands, you might as well forget about the job.

• He could be smiling, but was the smile authentic? Did it reach his eyes? If so, congratulations, you probably nailed it.

2. Did Your Interviewer Introduce you to Others?

If your hiring manager has made up his mind to offer the job to you, he is most likely to introduce you to other decision makers who were not present earlier.

• You were introduced to other members of the company. This is one of the good signs after job interview.
• Your interviewer made some staff introductions or better still, introductions to your prospective team members or colleagues.

Tip: This is a sign that the manager is deeply interested in you, allowing colleagues to evaluate you and also allowing you to listen to their testimonials about the company and the job to convince you.

• This is especially so if the decision to introduce you is an impromptu one that was not earlier in the agenda.
• Bonus points for signs of a good interview, if the new member to whom you were introduced is a president or some senior executive of the company. It means that word of your abilities has got around and seniors are interested.

3. Did the Interviewer Try to Bond with you Personally?

• The business part of the interview is over. After this, if the interviewer tries to bond with you personally, that’s a very positive sign that your interview went well.
• He becomes chatty and conversational and tries to have a friendly conversation with you. It shows he is impressed with you and thinking about hiring you. It is one of the good signs after job interview.
• When the conversation becomes casual and friendly, it shows that they are satisfied with you from a professional point of view and are trying to get to know you better, hoping that you will join their team.
• Hiring managers are busy personnel and if they’re spending time in friendly chit chat, it could surely mean only one thing. It demonstrates a real interest in you beyond merely your professional resume.

4. Talking About Future Plans – Indicator That the Interview Went Well

• Experts opine that when your interviewer uses your name several times in the course of the questioning, he is viewing you as a part of the company.
• It is a part of interview techniques and he is trying to make a connection with you and does not want to forget your name.
• He is already envisioning you working for the company and it is one of the main signs of a possible job offer.

5. Talk About Salary/Benefits/Perks

As part of job interview tips, normally,  interviewers do not talk about salary and benefits during the initial stages of screening.

• Did the discussion enter serious talks on salary and perks? If so, they are probably planning to make you an offer and have selected you, so the interview went well.
• Negotiation of Salary, perks, benefits are usually discussed only with a serious contender for the job.

Tip: Check out this guide for negotiation a salary.

6. References

• Your hiring manager asks for your references.
• He says that they need it for conducting a background check.
• This is a positive sign that the interview went well, as background checks are one of the last steps in the interview.
• Such checks are made before they present a candidate with an offer, and they like everything else about you.
• A company will not spend precious time and money on cross verification’s and references for a candidate they are not interested in.

7. Did the Interview Last for an Unusually Longer Time than Fixed Earlier?

You are in the hot seat and the interview seems to be going on and on. Well, this could actually be a good thing.

• If your interviewer held you for a longer time than assigned, it could mean that the panel is interested in you and that the interview went well.
• You have already crossed all the initial requirements and criteria for the job in the designated time. They are spending additional time with you to confirm their opinion and offer you the job, in all probability.
• If there’s no future for you in the office, there is no point in continuing the conversation more than the designated time.

8. Call for Another Round

You have already gone through tips on how to face a job interview, so you’re well prepared for the second round.

• The interview is over but you are asked to come for another round or a second interview.
• It means that they have collected a list of semi finalists and you are one of the serious contenders for the job.
• They are in all likelihood trying to bring about a consensus among the hiring managers and need a second round to decide.
• Second interviews are generally a positive sign. However, occasionally, it could just be a part of the usual interviewing process for the company.

9. Making Plans/Discussing Problems

• This absolutely nails it. It is one of the most successful interview signs. If your interviewer starts making plans with you about the job and discusses the problems in the position, the challenges that you might face, it means that he is interested in you.
• When he starts making plans with you, it means that he is brainstorming with you to come up with a strategy. It shows he is already picturing you for the job.
• And in the course of the discussion, if he says that the company is really looking forward to having you soon, it is clear indication that you nailed it! It is a discreet means of offering you a welcome, without actually saying it.

10. Discussions on Leaving Current Job

• If your hiring manager questions you on how soon you can leave your current job, you can infer from this that they are keen on hiring you.
• He might ask you about any non compete agreements that exist in your current job. It can only mean that the hiring manager is interested in moving things forward soon and wishes to know if there are any issues or roadblocks in quitting your present job.

Last Word

Sometimes, you get that gut feeling telling you that the interview went very well or that you had blown it. At other times you know for sure that they’re not going to call you. Yet, apart from such intuitions, there are certain clear signs that you can keep a watch for to tell you which way the wind is blowing. Some signs can be really obvious or sure fire ones, but others are more subtle.

Some of the key indicators are:

• Body language
• The time or duration of the interview
• The kind of questions he asked you
• Introduction to other team members

Don’t pay too much attention to minor details of the interview. For instance, your interviewer may not have been very warm in his/her behavior, but that could just be his/her personality and does not affect your job prospects. Though there is no foolproof indicator, consider the bigger picture while making such analyses and you’d surely know where you stand! Good Luck!!!