How To Survive a Panel Interview

Dean Drobot; BigStock

Congratulations! You successfully applied for a job and landed an interview.

There’s only one catch — it’s a panel interview. Instead of one person conducting the interview, there will be multiple people, sometimes as many as four or five. As a job seeker, interviews are bad enough without the idea of multiple people being present.

Here’s how to survive a panel interview:

Research the panel ahead of time

If possible, call the organization you’ll be interviewing at and see if you can find out who will be interviewing you. Then, do some research about them. Look on the company website, as well as sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, etc. How long have they been with the company? What does their role entail?

This will help you have an idea of who you’ll be meeting. Instead of a blind interview with several people, you’ll know exactly who to expect and have an idea of what they’re like. In addition, if you do get hired at the company, these individuals will be your co workers and potential mentors, so it’s good to get to know them early.

Bring multiple copies of your resume

Prepare for the panel interview by printing off multiple copies of your resume. If you don’t know exactly how many people will be there, print a lot, just to be safe. Better to have too many than not enough. That way, everyone will have an individual copy to look at.

If possible, bring multiple samples of your work as well. Don’t feel the need to duplicate your entire portfolio, but making extra copies of your past work will show you’re prepared and ready for the interview, along with keeping it from going too long.

Focus on one person at a time

While you’re being introduced to everyone, focus on one person at a time. Shake their hand and look them in the eye as you repeat their name. Giving every interviewer individual attention will help the panel interview to seem less overwhelming.

During the interview, the panel members will most likely take turns asking questions, so look at the person while answering. Think of a panel interview as a series of one-question miniature interviews. Don’t completely ignore the other members, and don’t overdo it by staring at one member too much, but do try to focus on one person at a time.

Related: Networking Tips

Breathe

Panel interviews can be scary because of the sheer number of people involved, but remember to breathe. At the end of the day, it’s just an interview.

And, there is a good side to a panel interview — you’ll most likely have to meet all of these people during the hiring process, and panel interviews allow you to meet them all at once. Also, it’s an added chance to ask questions and find about more about the company from a wide range of sources.

Panel interviews can be overwhelming, but with these tips, you’ll do just fine. Remember to do your research, prepare ahead of time, and just breathe.

What are other ways to survive a panel interview?