“What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear from you?”

When to use it

Always ask. It gives you a date to follow up on, and it signals you have options.

What it replaces

Waiting three weeks in silence.

The hedged version is not wrong English. It is English that asks the interviewer to do the work of deciding whether you meant it. The confident version makes the decision for them.

In an answer

“One last thing: what are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear from you?”

How to make it automatic

1. Say it aloud five times now, at normal speed, with contractions.
2. Pick one story from your own work where it fits, and say that story once using it.
3. Record a 60-second answer tomorrow and listen for whether it came out on its own.