Why job interviews are like first dates. Seven signs you’ll be seeing each other again

Sometimes you walk out of a job interview and you just know you’ve hit it off with the interviewer.  You have that sense of warmth like the job is a good fit. You can only think good things about the job, the interview and the employer. A job interview that’s gone well is almost like a fun first date where you think you genuinely got to know the other person and enjoyed their company.  I like the dating analogy, because sometimes with the nicest people I’ve met, I couldn’t pick what they thought of me when I met them.  I’ve made that complicated I know. (Just lucky I am much better at picking interviews) So if you’re like me, and left an encounter thinking, “I wonder how that went, really?” here are seven strong signals that you and your date, sorry, interviewer, will probably see more of each other in the future.

1)      Like a good first date, the interviewer seems genuinely interested in uncovering what makes you tick. Sometimes they’ll keep probing, even if you give a really superficial answer that only skims the top of what you really want to say. If the interviewer keeps digging for more information on the one question it means they are still interested in considering you as a candidate. If they accept what you say and move on, then chances are you are in the process of being ruled out, if you haven’t been ruled out already. Be warned here though, if the interviewer needs to continually dig, they may write you off as “hard work.”

2)      There’s some mirroring going on. In dating when people like each other they tend to mirror the body language of the other person. Same with job interviews, especially the “coffee chat” interviews, where you are not stuck behind a desk facing a panel.

3)      You forget about the time. The job interview goes for much longer than you estimated. As a side note, you can often tell how much time the interviewer has allocated for a job interview by the time they invite you in. So if you are invited in at 9.45, say, it can mean that the interviewers are allocating either 30 or 45 minutes to the interview.  If your job interview goes for longer than than the time you estimate, unless you or the interviewer are chronic “over-talkers,” the fact that the interview has gone over time, means you’ve all had a good time.

4)      The interviewer asks about your salary expectations. I can’t think of an exact dating analogy for this, except this. If your interviewer asks you what your “expectations are” then you are being “qualified” for the role. Having said this, if the interviewer does not ask about what you want, money wise, this is not necessarily a bad sign about your success. Sometimes interviewers assume that you know what’s on offer, or that someone else will qualify you.

5)      Your interviewer asks you about past references. Like dating, talking about relationships early on can be tricky territory. Unlike dating, if an interviewer asks that your referee relationships are still valid and asks for the best way to contact them,  it means they think they’re onto a good thing.

6)      The interviewer shares something about the company. Good job interviews, like good dates, are about sharing information. There are issues when the interviewer talks too much, but if an interviewer tells you nothing about a company, then there are a few explanations. They may want the job interview to end quickly or they are inexperienced/ poor interviewers. If the second scenario is the case, then you as an interviewee have every right to do your own due diligence on the role and why it is on the market. Come to think of it, depending on what you want, you could possibly do the same of a date!

7)      The interviewer contacts you quickly.  Three things here. If a job is genuinely on the market, and the interviewer has their act together, and the interviewer genuinely likes you, you will hear something back from them or the employer pretty quickly. This is like dating. It does sound tough, I know, but it is a fact.

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I can only give career tips, no dating advice, sorry Unless of course you are thinking of dating your interviewer!

Karalyn

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Related posts:

1. Why job interviews are like first dates. Seven, sorry, eight signs you’ll be seeing each other again
2. Why job interviews are like dating, part 2. How soon is too soon to follow up with a call?
3. Beware – the interview over talker!
4. Behave in behavioural interviews – improve your interview skills
5. Six most common job interview types

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