Bad feeling after interview

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flowersbloom

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Anyone have this feeling that you did well after an interview but as time goes on you feel that you did really bad?
Has your "gut feeling" ever matched what you expected?

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I felt all different kinds of ways. It's kind of like the mcat feeling fluctuation, it's not really predictive. Except, you could have a great interview and still not get accepted somewhere. But if you felt it went well at the time, it probably did.
 
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Anyone have this feeling that you did well after an interview but as time goes on you feel that you did really bad?
Has your "gut feeling" ever matched what you expected?

Kind of happened to me. Right after the interview I felt like I did pretty well. One interviewer even brought up the fact that I answered her favorite question to ask before she even asked it, both of them laughed heartily where I meant my answers to be funny, etc. As the days went on after the interview I started replaying my answers in my mind and it felt like I had rambled far too much. Might just be my memory playing tricks on me, maybe my post-interview adrenaline made me think I did better than I thought.

Either way, not much you can do about it post-interview. Like Monster_Cat said, just try to move on and make sure you nail down the interviewing basics at your next one.
 
I thought I bombed one of my interviews, I was super sick (runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat) and drugged up on cold medicine, and really thought I failed at answering all questions because my mind was not really functioning and all I wanted to do was sleep. Still got accepted, miracles happen.
 
Literally every time. The more you analyze what you said, the dumber it sounds.

Remember: interviewers who like you may grill you a bit to get the info they need to advocate for you. Interviewer's who don't can be pleasant and go through the formalities since their mind is made up.
 
Anyone have this feeling that you did well after an interview but as time goes on you feel that you did really bad?
Has your "gut feeling" ever matched what you expected?

gut feelings about interview performance are worthless. Evaluating your own interview performance will be the ultimate form of bias.

example: I interviewed somewhere last cycle. 2 interviews separated by a half hour. The first interview I thought I bombed and I walked out of the interview room feeling dejected. Barely spoke to fellow applicants afterwards bc I felt like I undoubtedly blew the interview. I convinced myself I was going to be rejected and I had the most IDGAF mindset as I was called into my second interview. 5 weeks later I was accepted, 9 months later I matriculated at that school, and right now I am writing this post instead of studying for our next exam
 
Thanks everyone! I feel a lot better-- same with my experience- first interview I felt bad (and the interview was very short as well!).. then second one felt a lot better.
 
Just let it go. People are very poor judges of how their interviews went.



Anyone have this feeling that you did well after an interview but as time goes on you feel that you did really bad?
Has your "gut feeling" ever matched what you expected?
 
Ugh I always feel great after the interview then I neurotically analyse and cringe at little things it's very annoying
I'm sure it will get better once we hear back and have real feedback!
 
Just let it go. People are very poor judges of how their interviews went.

I know that some people are overly pessimistic and overanalyze their interviews to death and then think that everything they said is bad. But what happens in the other case where people are optimistic? If they came out of the interview thinking it went well, what aspect of "poor judge" is at play here? Is it that they might have given good answers but had weird body language or eye contact? Or is it that answers they thought were good might actually come across as boastful or ignorant to the interviewer?
 
Some people are just outright clueless, and what's in bold can be correct.

Other seize upon the interviewer's positive comments as proof of acceptance, when in reality, we're coached to be polite. In addition, the Adcom has the final say at times, and may very well overrule an interviewer(s).



I know that some people are overly pessimistic and overanalyze their interviews to death and then think that everything they said is bad. But what happens in the other case where people are optimistic? If they came out of the interview thinking it went well, what aspect of "poor judge" is at play here? Is it that they might have given good answers but had weird body language or eye contact? Or is it that answers they thought were good might actually come across as boastful or ignorant to the interviewer?
 
I try not to think at all about any specifics of how an interview went after I finish it because I tend to overanalyze things, and I don't want to let myself get caught up in useless worry.
 
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