Signs Your Interview is Taking a Turn for the Worse

Job interviews are an important step towards landing your job. Job seekers prepare all they can beforehand and as much as we’d like to believe all our interviews went well, sometimes we’re left feeling like something wasn’t right. There are warning signs that your job interview is taking a turn for the worse. By knowing what to look for, you might be able to recover before the interview ends.

An interview is essentially a discussion between you and the interviewer about the job position in question and about your skills and accomplishments. You want the interviewer to like you, and part of them liking you is having them engaged in what you’re saying. If you see that your interviewer is staring at their watch, the clock or checking their phone, you know that they are losing interest. One of the reasons may be because you’re talking too much. You may have a lot to say about yourself, but you shouldn’t do it all at once. You need to allow your interviewer to engage in what you’re saying by asking questions. If they aren’t doing this, then this is a bad sign.

If all your interviewer is doing is asking you question after question, it could start to feel less like a conversation and more like an interrogation. If your interviewer isn’t commenting on your responses or showing genuine interest in what you have to say then they aren’t engaged. When they only ask you questions, they are just trying to end the interview as quickly as possible.

Another sign your interview is taking a turn for the worse is if it’s being cut short. A good solid interview lasts at least a half hour. If your interviewer is wrapping it up fifteen minutes in, this is a bad sign. Your only chance at saving it is to ask good questions to the interviewer.

Let’s say your interviewer is responding to what you have to say and the interview is going at a good pace, you have this in the bag right? Check out your interviewer’s body language. Aside from looking distracted, what kind of facial expression do they have throughout the interview? Did they smile at all? Did they look relaxed or were they stiff?  Whether or not they looked like they enjoyed interviewing you is a major indicator of how well the interview went.

Have you ever recovered from an interview that wasn’t going too well? What was the sign that tipped you off? Tell us in the comments below!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by woodleywonderworks