How to Tell If You're Going to Get a Job Offer After Your Interview

A job interview is similar to dating. Both activities involve trying to find out if the interest is mutual. On a date, you’re on your best behavior and trying to read the signs to see if the other person views you as an attractive partner. Some buy signals can indicate the hiring manager is seriously considering you for the job.

These are the top five signs to watch out for to determine if you will likely receive a job offer after your job interview.

1. You formed a great bond during the job interview.

You can notice right from the start if the interviewer likes you. People tend to make a snap judgment when you first meet them.

The way the interviewer initially looks at you, the handshake and the initial interview small talk are all clues. Do you feel genuine warmth, or is the person cold and impersonal?

Once the interview starts, if you notice a fluid transition into a casual conversation that veers away from the traditional uptight back and forth, it is a sign that the hiring manager is interested and warming up to you.

2. The interviewer tried to sell you on the job.

If the interviewer stops asking traditional questions, such as, “Tell me about your responsibilities?” or “Why are you looking for a job?” and instead starts selling the virtues of working at their company, then your job interview is going well.

The more the interviewer talks, the better it is for you. This demonstrates their desire to get you excited about the position.

If they talk about the company’s benefits or perks, it could indicate they’re trying to get you interested in working for their company.

3. Your job interview went longer than expected.

If the interview was set for 30 minutes, and you notice that it’s already 45 minutes into the conversation and there is no sense of them trying to wrap up the meeting, the interviewer feels comfortable with you.

The job interviewer’s desire to keep the discussions going to learn more about you is an excellent sign of a potential job offer.

4. The interviewer’s language assumes you already work at the company.

Listen closely for their choice of words. If it seems that the interviewer is using language describing what it would be like to work at the company such as, “You will be involved with X,Y and Z and work with Judy, who is super nice,” you are heading in a very good direction.

When the manager segues into offering inside information about the people, problems and politics of the company, it reflects that they are bringing you into their confidence and trust that this might move forward.

5. The interviewer proactively shares the logistics of the next steps.

Interviews for experienced professionals will last two to six months and require a candidate to meet with three to as many as 10 people.

If the hiring manager tells you, “It was great meeting with you. I really enjoyed our conversation and believe you would be a great fit,” followed by, “I would love for you to come back and meet with so-and-so,” and they continue to reference a bunch of people with important titles in different groups that you immediately forget, then things are looking good.

The bottom line

If you come across as a smart, motivated, team oriented, non-confrontational and you can tell that they believe you, most likely they’ll give their okay to hire you.

If you experienced most of these signs then it is highly likely that the interview went very well and you stand a great chance of receiving a job offer.

This article was written by Jack Kelly for Forbes and was lightly edited and published with permission.