Panel Interviews
Most people fear two things when facing panel interviews.
- Being asked a question we won’t know the answer to. This isn’t so bad in front of one person, but in front of a panel of people, this is an entirely different scenario.
- A panel interview is an inquisition where everyone will ask us questions simultaneously or right after one another in a machine gun fashion.
To most candidates, the universally dreaded event known to psyche out a candidate days before the event is the panel interview. This may be the Goliath of interviewing, but remember that David came out victorious, and you can as well. I prefer panel interviews when I am the one who is being interviewed. The panel interview is the one interview where I believe the odds can favor the candidate.
Why a company would use a panel interview
- They don’t take up as much time. A candidate can interview with five plus employees in one-third the time it would take to interview individually. Whether you have one person interviewing you or 5, the interview probably won’t last more than 90 minutes. It is a rare instance where a company will put five people into a room to interview a candidate for more than 90 – 120 minutes. Five separate interviews can last all day, and HR spends half the time managing the interview loop.
- It is easier to reach a consensus on a candidate when all interviewers are in the same room and see and hear the same thing.
- Gives excellent training opportunities to an inexperienced interviewer. No company wants to take on the legal liability of an inexperienced interviewer in a room alone with a candidate.
Disadvantages to the company:
- A panel interview is costly. To get 3-5 employees in a room for an hour is 3x-5x as expensive as a single employee. It is harder to schedule 5 employees in a single room, which can delay the interview process.
- 60 limits the number of questions that can be asked. Remember 5-7 minutes for introductions and chitchat, then another 7-10 minutes at the end for you to ask questions. This shaves 10-15 minutes right out of the gate.
- As part of a panel, interviewers are forced to share 90 minutes of interview time with 3-5 other panelists. Interviewers effectively have 30 minutes with a panel of 3 and am cut down to 18 minutes with five panelists. The numbers are worse if the interview is scheduled for one hour or if there is a dominant interviewer on the panel who doesn’t allow others to ask questions.
- One person usually takes over the interview and asks all the questions.
Panel interview advantages for the candidate:
- Panel Interviews give you a more realistic picture of what the team dynamic is like. (I’m afraid I have to disagree with accepting a position after interviewing with only one person. Before I accept any position, I want to be interviewed as many people as possible to gain real insight into what I am getting into).
- Panel Interviews are usually more organized. The group has discussed their interview goals beforehand, and each panelist has a few questions they will ask you.
- Panel interviews are more civilized because no one wants to make a mistake in front of a group of peers, and most people are less prone to becoming aggressive or throwing around their weight in front of a crowd. (This can be different at the executive level, but if you are interviewing at this level, you know it comes with the territory, and again, you gain insight into the dynamic.)
Easier buy-in and more consistency
- Panel Interviews give you more opportunity for team buy-in. All interviewers will have had a say in your getting hired. This means they individually gave you their thumbs up. They will have a vested interest in you being successful in your new role. If you don’t meet everyone and are just introduced as a new person to the team by your manager, you are a stranger on day one.
- Panel Interviews spread your liability. In one on one interview loops, if your first interviewer has had a bad day, doesn’t have the time, or worse, doesn’t know how to conduct an interview, you are screwed. More people in the room increases the odds that you will get a fair shot. (They may put one on accident, but they aren’t going to put five jackasses in a room with you ) How to control an interview here.
- It is much easier to see someone break down (or hold up) in an all-day interview loop. Interview fatigue sets in after being asked the same questions repeatedly in four separate interviews. Answers get shorter, and candidates ask fewer questions on the 5th interview. This is a big mistake on the part of the candidate. Panel interviews work in your favor here.
At the beginning of this post, I listed the two big fears of Panel Interviews. Hopefully, the above helped lessen the fears.
Civilized
The panel interview is a time saver for the company. You will be asked ONE QUESTION AT A TIME. These are civilized events, not inquisitions.
In my next post, I will give tips on how to crush a panel interview.
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
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The Dude
January 5, 2012I had an interesting twist on this recently (well, last year). Over lunch for a full day battery of interviews, I was asked to prepare a quick briefing on a competitor’s newly introduced product. And then present it to the senior team. Stressful to prepare for, but it was a good way to see how I would handle a common task needed for the job.
Went well by the way, but the company closed the position without filling it. Sigh.