Michael DeSafey | Executive Recruiter and HR Professional
Panel Interviews….Are You Ready For A Grilling?
As a professional recruiter who has been working recruiting professionals in the environmental, engineering and construction industries for over 18 years now at Webuild Staffing. I have noticed that most candidates are the most stressed and worried about a panel interview.
Even the most experienced and dedicated professionals dread this type of interview. Sitting in a room, with 3 to 10 people forming opinions about you can be stressful, especially when you are interviewing for a position you really want.
As the name implies this is an interview with a group of people. Sometimes it will be with everyone all together at one time, but sometimes it may also be with the members of the panel separately, wherein they will come together to meet, discuss and determine how they each felt about the applicant.
Try to research the individuals on the panel ahead of time if you know who they will be so that you can best prepare for who you will be meeting with. This should also help you prepare yourself with a custom question that you can ask each one at the end of your interview as well as to help you engage with even the most quiet member of the panel. When meeting with a panel it is even more important to remain calm and avoid the appearance that you may be intimidated by the members and the more knowledge you have about them ahead of time the better chance you have of remaining calm during the process.
As with any interview you should also be prepared with a story that shows off your past work history and how well your skills fit into the position they are hiring for. If you are interviewing with the panel members separately or in groups, make sure you take notes about what each asked and how you answered, as well as any information about the job or company that you were able to obtain, and whom you obtained it from to ensure consistency with multiple interviews.
The key to these types of interviews are to be prepared, be confident in your skills and qualifications. Address questions in a straightforward and direct manner; relating past experiences to the interviewers questions. The abilities to link your past with how you can benefit this new employer will make a panel interview a fun and rewarding experience. More like a backyard BBQ rather than a Grilling..
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com) . To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com