how to face more than one interviewer

Although it may seem daunting to face a group of interviewers, a panel interview can actually be more honest and sometimes easier than a simple one-on-one interview.

Panel interviews may be a feature of graduate assessment centres, but may also be a standard interview method for professions such as teaching and other areas of the public sector. You may find yourself facing just two interviewers or four or more. If your interview is conducted virtually, these may be faces on the screen.

Although it may seem daunting to face a group of interviewers, panel interviews can actually be fairer and sometimes easier than the normal one-on-one. If a lone interviewer doesn’t shine, you’re screwed, but in a group, consensus can prevail. Having multiple interviewers can also make the experience more relaxed as there is often more opportunity for friendly conversation or discussion. If you have the opportunity to ask questions, you can benefit from different perspectives.

Who to watch and how to respond to panel interviewers

• Who will be on the panel?
  
  There may be a mix of HR specialists, technical experts and line managers. You may be told who will be on your panel before the day. If not, listen carefully as they introduce themselves, because knowing who is who can determine how you answer their questions. If you work closely with one person, try to establish a relationship with them. This can be done by making eye contact during an in-person interview or, if appropriate, referencing an interesting comment they made during your answers/questions at the end. For graduate interviews, you are unlikely to face more than three interviewers.

• Who should I watch?
  
  As mentioned earlier, this is the face-to-face interview dilemma. Direct your response to the person who asked the question, but be sure to include others with a few quick glances. It will also show that you have good meeting skills, which will be useful if the job involves contact with clients. You may find that only one interviewer asks the questions: answer them, but still include the others. As much as possible, try to build rapport with everyone in the room.

• What should I do if a panel member seems bored?
  
  The larger the panel, the more likely its members will have diverse interests. Keep in mind that a technical question is unlikely to interest the HR manager, so focus on the technical expert instead.

• What if someone starts scribbling or writing notes?
  
  Don’t let that put you off: obviously they have to keep track of what’s going on. This happens in all types of interviews.

• What if they ask the same question twice?
  
  Far from a clever ploy to test the honesty of your previous answer, this is probably a bug. Someone wasn’t paying attention. There’s nothing you can do about it, so just go ahead and answer the question…again. See this as an opportunity to fill in additional information that you may have missed the first time.

Two top tips for virtual panel interviews

• Test it
  
  . Chances are, you’ll know the platform of your interview ahead of time. So, ask a few friends or family members to join a meeting and make sure you look and sound good from where they’re sitting. Look at how many people are on your screen at the same time and play around to see if you can adjust this. If possible, it’s probably a good idea to make sure you can see the entire panel. If not, you should see who’s talking anyway, which is the most important thing.

• Maintain eye contact
  
  – even if they can’t tell who you’re looking at. Looking at the person speaking will help you stay engaged. Try not to see the screen in front of you, but instead pretend you’re in an office with the panel. This will help stop your eyes from wandering around your room or your facial expression from revealing too much or not enough of what you’re feeling.