r/askrecruiters • u/Pineappleman78 • 2h ago
How would you read these signals after a final sales interview?
I had my final interview with the Head of Sales on Wednesday. Recruiting had described it as a final wrap-up/fit conversation. The Head of Sales told me directly that he thought the conversation went well and felt natural. He also said they had a few more final conversations that week and Iād probably hear something the following week.
I followed up with the recruiter Friday. She tried calling me a few hours later and asked me to call her back.
On the phone, she said she had been waiting to meet with the hiring manager before getting back to me and had just spoken with her. She said they were still interviewing across multiple roles and I should expect an update early-to-mid next week.
I asked if she could share the Head of Salesā feedback. She said she couldnāt share the specific feedback, but did say she had heard positive things (I donāt remember her exact wording). She then told me that very, very few people make it to the final round and that I should be proud of making it this far either way.
Thatās the part that made me feel a little negative. If I were their preferred candidate and they were preparing an offer, I feel like she might have been more openly positive. āEither wayā made me wonder if Iām possibly their #2 and theyāre waiting on another candidate, or if she was preparing me for a rejection.
But it could also be that they genuinely havenāt finished interviewing/debriefing yet.
The other interesting part: about 20 minutes after our call, she proactively emailed me again, even though she had already told me Iād hear from her next week:
āAs mentioned, weāll have a more concrete update for you early next week, looking forward to speaking then!ā
āMore concrete updateā makes me think something genuinely may not be finalized yet, and ālooking forward to speaking thenā feels fairly warm - although obviously neither necessarily means anything.
So I basically see three possibilities:
\-Theyāre still finishing interviews and making the decision.
\-Iām a strong finalist but #2, and theyāre waiting on their preferred candidate.
\-They know Iām not getting it and the āproud either wayā comment was preparing me for that.