You finally snagged that interview. You turn up perfectly dressed, answers prepped – you’re all set. The interview lasts forty-five minutes to an hour. As you respond to the questions you see a variety of facial expressions cross the interviewer's face – some frowns and some smiles. At the end of the interview, the manager says “you will be hearing from us soon.” What exactly does this mean? Did you finally find employment? Unfortunately, it’s not time to head off to celebrate just yet.

Fact One: Most people conducting the interview may be the supervisor for the position, but interviewing is not a task they perform often.

They don’t have a lot of skill in asking questions and are definitely uncomfortable when it comes time to rap up the interview. While they may have a good idea of who they don’t want, their goal is to get you out of the room as soon as possible secure in the fact that they may never have to face you again. Keep a positive attitude as you shake their hand and walk out the door, but don’t let the promise of a call keep you from continuing your job search. This may seem harsh, but it’s reality.

Fact Two: Most interviewers will continue to smile no matter how big a gaffe you make.

You say one thing wrong and they have already decided that you are not the candidate for the job. They have to finish the interview, however, so they will continue to smile and ask questions. Signs to watch for include when they put down the pencil they were using to take notes or begin flipping through their interview sheets to see just how many questions they have left until the end.

If a hiring manager says they will give you a call in the next day or so, and the “day or so” stretches into weeks, you probably didn’t get the job. Sometimes you may not be their first choice and they will continue to interview. Sometimes they get tired of interviewing and you may win by default or the top candidate declined the position; in which case, you may get a job offer one to six months after the initial interview.

The harsh reality is that unless they offer the job on the spot, it’s impossible to tell if you actually got the job. While you may have been the best candidate at the time, someone may come in after you and offer more of the skills the company is looking for. In reality there is no sure fire way of making the call. The moral of the story? Good or bad interview – keep looking until you have a written job offer in hand.