by Lee Fratzke – The Sales Hub

I have come to really like Alison Green’s posts and today I found another one that is worth sharing.  As you can see from the title, she gives 7 signs that you can use in gauging how well an interview goes. 

1. The interviewer gives you a clear timeline for when a decision is expected, rather than being vague or noncommittal.
2. The interviewer asks about your timeline.
3. The interviewer tries to sell the position or company to you.
4. The interviewer spends a lot of time answering your questions.
5. The interview runs over the allotted time.
6. After you’re done, the interviewer introduces you to others or shows you around the office.
7. You hear from your references that the employer has called them.

If you wonder why any of the 7 are good signs, I recommend that you go read the post as Alison gives good insight into the why.  Now just because you experience one doesn’t mean that you should think that the job is locked up.  Let me provide an example from a recent interview.

The interview started well, but after a couple of questions I could tell that the owner of the company and the candidate did not click.   The candidate was told to plan on a 60-90 min. interview.  After 30 minutes of questions from the owner, he asked the candidate if he had any questions (remember sign 4).  After answering a couple of the candidate’s questions, I expected the owner to show the candidate out the door.  Instead, he asked the candidate if he would like a tour of the facility.

I have to admit at this point I was bit confused because the owner didn’t show a lot of interest in the candidate during the interview.  After the tour I asked the owner his thoughts about the candidate.  He told me that when he got up to shake the candidate’s hand he noticed that the interview had only lasted 40 minutes and he felt that he should spend a little more time with him.  His reasoning – so the candidate wouldn’t have anything negative to say about his experience.