do you usually KNOW (sense), after an interview if you got the job?

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Just wondering?

Sometimes I just know, like when they talk to you like you got the job.

Other times I have been sure I got the job and didn't end up getting it. Then also, I have thought I didn't interview well-only to end up getting the job.

Do you usually sense it, if you got the job?

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.
I haven't had a ton of interviews, but always have a sense of whether or not I'll get the job. So far, I have always been right. For me, its something in the way the interviewer responds to me. If about half-way through the interview they start "pulling back," I know I didn't get it. Not sure how to explain it any better.

Me too. I always know if I'm "in." Only one time did I gauge it wrong. When I interviewed for a school nurse position I actually interviewed with both teh principal and the consulting/supervising nurse. I could tell the nurse LOVED me, but the principal was very reserved, had her arms and legs crossed the whole time. My radar picked up some "I don't like you" vibes, but I couldn't understand why. I didn't hear anything from her for about 3 weeks and I couldn't understand why, because I was clearly qualified for the job. EVentually she offered me the position, but it was a love/hate relationship the whole time I was there and I lasted only 2 years before I burnt out. I should have listend to my gut.

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Specializes in Emergency.
It was a major assumption. I figured you're are struggling (and I saw some of your other posts and see I am right) and are jealous.

I guess we all assume.

no im not jealous of anyone. id love to have your experience, but that would mean i would be much older and not starting a new career. maybe i can comment on this thread again after ive had a few interviews

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

I will speak in terms of nursing postitions and not on other jobs that I have had...

I have had a total of three interviews for CNA positions. The first two interviews I was a brand new CNA and I interviewed for a Peds. ER position and another for an Adult Med/Surg position. In the Peds. ER position I felt that it was going well but about half way through the interview I felt that the interviewer was "pulling away" or deciding that I wasn't the right candidate. By the end of the interview the manager said that although he liked me as a person and felt I was a good potential employee I lacked experience in peds. and in critical care so I would need some more experience in those areas before he could hire me. The Med/Surg position I could tell was going very well from the minute it started and the manager pretty much offered me the position on the spot. After about 6 months experience I went back to the Peds ER interview (with a new interviewer this time) and I went back with more experience and better interview skills and again I felt that the interview went well but I wasn't 100% sure if I got the job and a few days later I got a call back saying that they wanted to offer me the job. So I donno if you can tell whether you "have the job" by the end of an interview, it really depends on the nature of the interview (anywhere from semi-casual or highly formal) and the feedback that you get from the interviewer throughout the interview but I think that for the most part if your a really observant person then you can usually tell how it went overall.

!Chris :specs:

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Specializes in Pediatrics, OB/GYN.

i have had a ton of job interviews and for the most part, yes, I do know afterwards if they went particularly well and that i'm likely getting hired. Also know when I'm obviously not getting hired and all the parting words they are offering seem sugar coated and out of pity.

but, i've definitely had those instances of walking out feeling like I completely bombed the interview only to get called back within a day by HR saying that "the manager absolutely loved you! you got the job!" :confused:

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You must go through a lot of jobs.

Don't you? You have jobs you work while living at home in high school, you have jobs you do during college, you interview for internships while in college, there are summer jobs between school years, interviews after graduation.

After that, you have economic changes, company ownership changes, outsourcing, closings, career changes....

There are many reasons to have job interviews.

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I've always been horrible at figuring out how well an interview went. Almost every time, I feel the opposite of the end result; i.e. if I think it went great, I don't get the job, if I think it went poorly, I get a job offer. It all boils down to the fact that you just never know exactly what that person (or people) making the hiring decision is thinking. Plus, you have to consider the other variables you can't control, such as "is this job already reserved for someone else and is my interview just to make it qualify as an 'open' position?" Bottom line, I don't think anyone ever really knows when they leave an interview if the job is theirs or not. I'm sure there are plenty who are better at gauging it than I am, but I don't think anyone really knows for sure.

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

I came back from an interview once that was a 5 minute drive from my home and called my husband saying that I couldn't understand why they called me in for interview because they admitted that they were not hiring and didn't have a position for me. What a waste of time! I was tee'd off. Anyway, no sooner I hang up from hubby than the phone goes and it's them offering me a job. Go figure! Since then I don't count on my gut, I wait for the offer in writing, and then get excited.

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Specializes in cardiovaslular PCU, inpt rehab, HHC, ICU, PP.

Interesting food for thought. I had an interview today with a very large, well known hospital and the interview lasted about an hour. The bulk of the time was with the day charge nurse, but I did get a tour from a team lead, who emphasized the "grueling" nature of the position, and referred to my current job as "cushy". The charge and I seemed to click though, and we talked about a great deal of things regarding time management, and communication, as well as the right personality for the job, which, she said, she thought I would do well. I don't think she is the one who makes the ultimate decision though. The floor supervisor came in for about 10 minutes, and didn't say much. I don't know if it was just that she was busy, or she felt I'd been there long enough for them to get a sense for whether or not they wanted me for the job. I do know that the supervisor is just like that, so... I really don't know how many others they have to interview. I do know that the most important things to the staff I talked with is : Ability to communicate, take constructive criticism, be highly motivated, reliable, and hard working. I am and I do. So, I wonder if I will get the job.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Yes, I know. They offer it on the spot.

I've never had that happen. They always need to go through background and reference checks first.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Transplant.

I think it can be hard to really gauge exactly what is going on. Looking back on my journey through interviewing for NP jobs I can see that especially in the moment it is often difficult to tell. I mean, you can be confident with well prepared answers and seem to be clicking so well with the interviewer (or panel of interviewers) but if one person unbeknownst to you is not so into you...you will never know under their enthusiastic exterior until you just don't get the job.

Sometimes you you also have no idea how many other people are interviewing, when the job posting will be taken down, how set the experience requirements are...and the list goes on. I even had one job that I'm now soooo relieved didn't come to fruition where the lead interviewer made all sorts of promises (even promising an awesome salary) only to change his comments/vibe drastically within days.

All of that said, with the job I recently accepted I had a calm, good feeling throughout the whole interview process. Not an "I'm SURE I got the job sort of euphoria but the kind of feeling where I wasn't shocked when I received a job offer a few days later.

So yes, you can have gut feelings. And I think the more interviews you do the more accurate the feelings become. However, I can say even more emphatically now that you just *never* know!

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I come from the times of shortage and so have very little interview experience. Did anyone interview back then? it was more of nurse makes an inquiry and gets the job if they want it.

About 20 yrs ago I did bomb an interview that I had sabotaged, I was better experienced than the nursing supervisor and didn't actually want the job, IIRC I was just fishing during a stressful time, but it was still a hit to my ego. I knew I didn't kill it during the midst of it.

My most recent interview but still 14 yrs ago, she caught me at the elevator and offered me more than I asked for. That was pretty cool.

All of my other jobs were merely a phone call to let a known employer know I was available.

I will need to interview when I relocate and I'm pretty nervous about it, I'm not at all used to the pressure of competition, of being on the other side of supply and demand.

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