Promising Signs That Your Interview was Successful

So you've just come out of a really important job interview, you're going to feel completely relieved that it's all over and either confident that you did well or worried that you didn't. It's common for you to go over the job interview questions and the answers you gave, and note any other small things during the interview - but how do you really know whether or not you did well?  These 4 points below will help to give you an indication of whether or not your job interview went well.

You covered topics beyond the job description.

A good interview is one where you handily answer all the interviewers' questions, clearly demonstrate that you can meet all the job requirements, AND THEN start to discuss all the other things you can bring to the job. You'll get the job by using the interview to convince them that employing you will bring them all sorts of additional skills and knowledge they didn't even expect.

You are asked a few conversational - even personal - questions.

This is maybe the best indicator. A job interview is largely about personality, sometimes even more so than skills or qualifications. If you start chatting away with the interviewer about this or that, if you're sharing jokes and laughs, you're probably doing quite well. If you feel like the interviewer got to like you on a personal and or professional level, that's usually a very encouraging early sign.

The interview went longer than scheduled.

This one is logical enough. If you're in and out within twenty minutes, you might not have ticked all the boxes however if you're still answering questions an hour into the interview your chances of an offer are good.

They give you a firm answer about when you'll hear back.

This is not a foolproof indicator, but it's a good one none the less. You don't want to hear, "We'll let you know." You don't want to have to ask, "When, exactly will I hear?" If they say, "I'll have an answer for you on Monday morning," that usually means they've made a decision. The decision might not be to offer you the role, but at least they've made a decision. If the interviewer gives you a vague answer that might mean that there are plenty more interviews scheduled and your interview performance was not enough to make them cancel the others.

Quite simply, one of the golden rules of working life is that you should never rely on getting a job simply because you think you had a good interview. The fact is, that if you continually have good interviews, sooner or later, and probably sooner, you will get the job and career you want and deserve.