5 Signs You Are Bombing Your Interview!

Here are 5 ways you can tell you are bombing your interview:

1. No eye contact. The interviewer is staring at your resume or the computer screen, and not looking at you. How to counteract this visible boredom with you? Get engaging! Recall from your research of the company and interviewer what key issues they are facing, and tell war stories about your relevant skills. Don’t sound like a robot. Vary your pitch and length of sentences.
2. Bad body language. If your interviewers are crossing their arms, leaning back, and/or not smiling, these are tell-tale signs that you need to shift strategy immediately. For example, when my candidates interview with a certain exec at a Fortune company and report he was “very serious”, I know it’s game over because that interviewer is actually very dynamic (only when interested as it turns out).
3. Bad flow. If there are long pauses and an uncomfortable rhythm, you know things aren’t going well. But you can fix things! Make the conversation interesting — show you have done significant research, and jump in to ask important questions in an engaging way.
4. No mention of next steps. If the interview ends abruptly with no mention of next steps, that usually is not a good sign. If interviewers think highly of a candidate, they will often make an effort to recruit and sell the company, team, or role.
5. Mention of a long interview process. Sometimes interviewers end the interview by warning the process is a very long one. They could be saying this to start letting down the candidate early. However, if they add the candidate should stay in touch (or similar), it could indeed be true that they are just starting the process.

Remember: Even if things are going badly, you can often resurrect the interview. Do your research beforehand, and demonstrate strong legal and people skills!