Ending the Interview
The end of the interview should not come as a surprise to you. The interviewer will most likely ask whether you have any further questions and tell you that she has none left for you. She may then offer up the next stage of the process by saying something like, “We're interviewing candidates for the next two weeks and hope to make a decision by the end of the month.”
If the interviewer does not tell you what comes next, don't be afraid to ask. Find out whether the company will contact you directly or whether it will be up to you to call someone back and check the status of your application. Ask how long it will be before they make a decision.
Essential
You may feel as though you have little control over how long an interview lasts. However, a typical first interview lasts about 30 minutes. When the interview approaches the 30-minute mark, be aware of any signs the interviewer may be wrapping things up. Try to finish off strong, but do not try to hold your interviewer captive.
It is a good idea to write down information about the next step. If the interviewer doesn't offer you his business card, ask for one. Even if he doesn't have a card handy, write down his name (be sure to ask for the correct spelling), title, and phone number (if you don't have it already). Keep this information alongside the names and titles of anyone else you may have met with in the company, as these are the people you will want to thank.
While you might like to think that the only thing left to do now is sit around and wait for the phone to ring, it's not. In addition to having plenty of post-interview tasks to take care of, you should never stop working on finding a new job until you have received an official offer. Even if you think the interview went great, there's no guarantee that you have the job until the company tells you so. Continue sending out resumes and scheduling more interviews.
