You prepared carefully for the interview. You wore your best interview outfit and wrote follow-up notes to everyone you met. You’d love to know how how well you did, but in fact it may be several weeks before you learn whether you’ll be invited to move forward in the hiring process.
In addition to calming your nerves, it would be useful to know whether you’re still a contender for this particular job or whether you should continue your search without having any energy tied up in that position. (I always tell people to continue their search regardless, because there’s no guarantee you will get the job even if you’re invited back for a second interview.)
Nonetheless, we humans tend to like certainty. According to a recent article in the Employment section of the July 5, 2015 Chicago Tribune by Lisa Rangel of Brazen Careerist, there are a number of signs that can give you an idea of how likely it is that you are a contender for the job.
- If the interview runs shorter than what you were told to expect, the interviewer probably decided you were not right for the position. Similarly, if the interviewer seems distracted or fails to ask you the probing questions you were fearing, they’re most likely not very interested.
- If they don’t ask why you’re leaving your current (or last) position or when you could start working for them, probably they don’t see you working for them at this time. The article suggests that if they don’t bring up salary, that might be a negative sign. That’s possible, but salary is not always discussed in the first interview. And surely you don’t want to initiate a discussion of salary because it may look as though you’re just interested in the money. Recently a client called to report that she thought the interview she had been worried about had gone well. It was short, she reported, and they hadn’t asked why she was leaving her position or inquired in depth about her accomplishments in her most recent job. I had to tell her that those might be signs of lack of interest on their part. In fact, she has not heard back from them.
- Because most employers require more than one interview to hire for a professional position, the lack of any mention of follow up steps such as scheduling a second interview or checking your references could be an indication of lack of interest on their part. And surely if they don’t respond when you ask about next steps, their interest is probably not high.
If several of these signs are present, it doesn’t mean you are a bad candidate, but probably not a good fit for this position. So dust yourself off and keep searching.
If you would like some coaching as you continue your search, that’s what we’re here for. Please contact us at jlansky@lanskycareerconsultants.com or call us at (312) 285-2000.
