How To Know If An Interview Went Well

Walking away from a seemingly positive job interview is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

There will still be an inkling of uncertainty in your mind, but overall, you will most likely be feeling much more confident following the interview than prior to it.

When an interview goes well, you are usually aware of it due to the interactions and feedback you received from the interviewer.

Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to tell if an interview went well or not. Maybe the person conducting the interview was a little too professional, holding a stone-cold expression the whole time, despite your impressive answers.

It can be difficult to gauge the difference between a great interview and a flop.

There are many signs that indicate how well an interview went: you just need to read between the lines a little.

In this article, we have listed several aspects for you to recall from the interview process to estimate whether it went just as swimmingly as you remembered, or if you completely sank.

Here are 8 positive signs to look out for during a job interview.

The Interactions Between You And The Interviewer Switch Between Casual And Professional With Ease

It is completely natural for a person to feel nervous during the lead up to a job interview.

It is a big moment, and, in a way, an interview is like a performance: you will need to be the best version of yourself in order to catch the full attention of the interviewer, leading them to believe that you are the ideal candidate for the role that you are applying for. You are, essentially, selling yourself.

It is one of the greatest feelings when you are in the midst of an interview, and you suddenly realize that you are no longer nervous. The interactions between you and the interviewer feel so natural that it is almost as if you are having a conversation with a friend.

This doesn’t always happen, and it is almost always a good sign!

If you and the interviewer are able to communicate with ease, and you feel comfortable, the interviewer likely feels the same way. They will want to hire someone that they get along with.

A naturally flowing conversation may be enough, along with your achievements, to convince the interviewer that you will be a great fit for the company.

The Interview Ran Longer Than Initially Expected

When receiving an offer for a job interview, the individual extending the offer will often give a rough estimate of how long the interview itself will be. The length of time will vary depending on the job, but the average time is usually around 30 minutes.

If an interview is particularly short – for example, only lasting 5-10 minutes – this may be a bad sign. A shortened interview may indicate that the interviewer felt they had discovered all they needed to know about you, and that they have already made their decision not to hire you.

On the flip side, if an interview runs longer than the usual amount of time, this is a great sign! As we said previously, if your interviewer felt comfortable speaking to you, they may have lost track of time while getting to know you.

However, in certain scenarios, the interviewer may simply be trying to fit in every question that they are required to ask you. If you are giving longer answers, the interview itself will go on for longer.

The best indication that a long-winded interview is a good sign is if the interviewer seems genuinely interested in the answers that you are giving, rather than quickly moving onto the next question without giving feedback.

The Interviewer Asked How Soon You Can Start Working

It is a good sign if the person conducting the interview asks how much notice you will need to give to your current employer before ‘theoretically’ joining this company.

Think of it this way: if the interviewer wasn’t interested in you, the odds are that they wouldn’t waste time asking how soon you could start this new job. If they weren’t, at least, considering you for the position, they wouldn’t care.

By asking how quickly you could join the company, there is an indication that they are eager to know how soon you could start working for/with them.

Additionally, if the interviewer offers you their contact information, this is also a great indicator that they are considering you for the position.

Again, they probably wouldn’t waste their time handing out their own contact details to someone that they have no plans to speak to ever again.

You Were Introduced To Other Members Of Staff During The Interview

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world back in early 2020, online interviews have been more popular than ever. Being interviewed through a screen means that you will, most likely, only interact with the person giving the interview.

However, if you have been asked to attend a face-to-face interview at the company building, you will be more likely to interact with other members of staff, even if you are simply passing them on your way to the interview.

If the interviewer introduces you to these other staff members during the interview, especially by name, this is a very good sign that the interview is going well.

By introducing you, this indicates that the interviewer believes that you are going to get the job, and you will be working alongside these people soon enough.

This is also a great tactic on their behalf to examine how you interact with other members of the team. They will want to see how friendly you are, and how well you fit into this specific work environment.

If you have been introduced to executive members of the staff, such as managers, this is an even greater indication that you are being considered for the role.

These people are often busy with their workloads, so it’s a great sign if your interviewer believes that they should meet you before the interview ends.

You Were Given A Tour Of The Workplace During The Interview

Similarly to the previous point, a tour of the workplace indicates that you may be given the opportunity to work there fairly soon.

This point depends on what kind of job you are applying for, however: certain interviews require that you complete trial tasks to demonstrate your skills. This means that everybody being interviewed will be shown around the workplace.

However, it could be the case that the person conducting this interview wants to show you around because they are seriously considering you for the role. They may want to see how easily and comfortably you fit into the workspace.

The Interviewer Gave You Specific Information About The Responsibilities Of The Job

If the interviewer gives you specific details about the position without you having asked, it is a good indication that they are considering you, or have even already decided that they want to hire you.

Again, they wouldn’t waste their time giving out precise information about the job if they had no intentions of hiring you. There would be no point.

By giving you these pieces of information, they may already consider you to be part of the team, telling you exactly what you will be working towards as an employee.

If you have reached the end of the interview, and they have not given you any additional information about the position without being prompted, this may be a sign that they haven’t decided what to do with you yet.

If they use sentences such as, ‘you will be [insert task]’, they have most likely already decided, or are in the process of deciding, that they want you to join the team.

By using the word, ‘you’, they are already including you as an employee, whether that be a conscious decision or not.

You Were Given Details About The Salary Of The Job Without Having Asked

Delving deeper into the previous point, it is always an excellent sign if the interviewer gives you information about your possible pay rate without having being asked.

It is common knowledge that, unless it has been previously stated, a person should not ask about a job’s salary during the interview process.

This is because it will indicate to the interviewer that you are only interested in how much you are being paid, rather than wanting the job for what it is.

If the person leading the interview states how much you may be earning as an employee, they may already know that you will shortly be offered the position.

They wouldn’t waste their time informing you of a theoretical salary if you were not, at least, being considered for the role.

Additionally, it is a good sign if they asked you about how much you were paid in previous jobs, or how much you would expect to receive at this company.

You Received An Offer For A Second Interview

Lastly, this is probably the most promising sign that you are being considered for the role. If you have outright been asked to attend a second interview, especially during the first interview itself, you have almost definitely made an outstanding impression.

Many companies will leave you waiting between 24 hours and a couple of weeks before you receive feedback: this sometimes depends on how many applicants are being considered, and how big the company is.

If the interviewer offered you a second interview during the first one, that is a sign that you did really well.

Either they knew that you were going to receive an offer before the interview began, or you impressed them so much with your answers and attitude that they decided that you were a great candidate during the interview.

Either way, a second interview is extremely promising!

However, don’t let it get to your head: a second interview does not mean that you have certainly gotten the position. Remember to put just as much effort into the second interview as you did with the first.

Final Thoughts

So, there we have it! Those are our 8 positive signs to look out for that indicate that you aced your interview. We hope you recognized some of these behaviors from your own interview.

Remember to keep these points in mind for your future interviews.

Good luck!

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