diff --git a/pandas/io/gbq.py b/pandas/io/gbq.py
index 572a8be5c65e8..91ec4831b0472 100644
--- a/pandas/io/gbq.py
+++ b/pandas/io/gbq.py
@@ -185,7 +185,8 @@ def run_query(self, query):
 
         job_reference = query_reply['jobReference']
 
-        while(not 'jobComplete' in query_reply):
+        # Verify the job has finished running
+        while(not query_reply.get('jobComplete', False)):
             print('Job not yet complete...')
             query_reply = job_collection.getQueryResults(
                             projectId=job_reference['projectId'],