3 Tips For Handling A Nasty Panel Interview

By Selipha Kihagi

If you’ve been to an interview before you have an idea of how interviews are like, you can already foresee what to expect in the next one, but have you been to a panel interview? If you haven’t, you are more or less in the same position as one who hasn’t been to an interview at all.

Every interview is different and requires the candidate to prepare a fresh before going to the interview. Sometimes you will know when you’re going to face a panel interview, especially if you did your research well on the company you applied to but sometimes you don’t know what to expect.

So, How Do You Handle A Nasty Panel Interview?

1. You must be prepared to repeat yourself
Picture yourself seated in front of two or more people who are completely strangers, you don’t know them and they don’t know you. You have to impress each one of them in their own capacity.

Not every one will hear and understand what you say, some may want you to explain yourself better or may not have been listening to you and end up asking you a question you have already answered.

This might provoke a reaction from you that might be picked as being rude or negative. To avoid this, ensure that you go to the interview expecting to repeat yourself.

2. Identify which of the interviewers you should work to impress
In a panel, it is only normal that there is the good guy and the bad one; the interviewer with a friendly face who appears to be listening to all you are saying, and the one who scares you by just looking at you, making you feel like you don’t know what you are saying.

To do well in the interview, know who the bad guy is and focus on impressing him/her. While you may feel inclined to concentrate on those giving you a response, try address the one who looks tough in the room.

3. Change how you ask your question at the end of the interview
You probably have gone through a list of questions that you can ask in an interview and have them ready with you. How you ask these questions in a one on one interview is different to how you should approach it in a panel interviews.

To handle a panel interview, engage all interviewers in the room in your question and let it centre around what was discussed in the interview. You could ask each one to give their view on a certain issue.

Panel interviews can be intimidating and demoralising but they don’t have to weigh you down, do your research well and be ready for anything.