When you are preparing for a panel interview, you are getting ready for an interview by a group of people. However, this group most often asks a standard set of interview questions.
Like any interview, you should prepare by researching the company and position that is open, think about what answers you will give to common questions, and dress and act professionally during the interview. With the panel format, you also have to prepare resume and portfolio materials for all the members of the panel.
You will also have the more difficult task of memorizing their names. During panel interview questions, you should address the panel members individually by name and make eye contact with each of them. In the course of the interview, each of the panel members will be assessing you in different ways.
The most common practice is to have different job titles or people from different departments on the panel to look at the various aspects of your work performance, ethic, and personality.
Finding out ahead of time what each person on the panel does for the company can help you emphasize the salient points during your answers that will apply to those specific panelists. For instance, if you are speaking to a human resources professional, you may need to explain technical references that should be kept in the conversation if you are also addressing a technical expert on the panel.
There are simple tips to help with common panel interview questions. Often, the head of the panel will start by asking you to tell the panel about yourself. Use this opportunity to highlight rather than ramble.
Panel Interview Tips and Group Interview Questions
Reveal a few great personality traits, why you are looking for this new opportunity, and a unique (and memorable) qualification or experience that makes you a valuable asset in the open position. After that, the questions will probably range through your strengths, weaknesses, experiences (positive and negative), education, technical proficiency, and reasons for wanting the job.
When you are preparing for these panel interview questions, remember the point is to show the value you can be to the company, not the income the company will give to you. When talking about the benefits you will receive from the job, you should reference opportunities for growth and development, a challenging and rewarding opportunity, or a love for the work rather than a salary.
Panel Interview Questions and Answers
You want to craft your answers to showcase your qualities that improve work performance. These include working well with other, being self-motivated, organizing and managing time well, understanding the necessary technology or duties of the position, and having a positive attitude.
During all of these panel interview questions, remaining calm, confident, and engaging is important to giving an overall positive impression to the panel members. These qualities help the panelists to see that you can handle stressful situations professionally and deal with people easily.
If you don’t know an answer to a question right away, acknowledge the question and then take a moment to compose your thoughts before starting to answer so that you don’t rush in to a poor answer, revealing unfavorable information, or stammering instead of speaking confidently.
See: How to act in a panel interview
