The reason for a panel interview is to get the opinion of multiple people at the same time
on the viability of a work candidate.  Typically the people that attend are from various
departments within the company – a representative from human resources and the
department that is hiring at a minimum.  This saves time and money for the company and
lets them see how the candidates react under pressure.

When you are listening to questions during a panel interview, maintain eye contact with
the person who is speaking.  Once the question has been asked, make sure to address your
answer to all who are present.  Make eye contact with everyone and include them in your
attention.  Be prepared for follow-up questions from any or all of the attendees.  Each one
is going to want to know information from an angle that will directly affect their
department.

You may find that in some panel interviews, only one person does the talking and
everyone else is there simply to observe.  Still address all of your comments to the group
and don’t let this unnerve you.  It is definitely stressful, but not unusual.  Be flattered that
they consider you a strong enough candidate to gather more than one person to evaluate
your interview and choose you to work for the company.  An interview is an investment
for a company, an expenditure of money in the form of salaries; you are there because
you have a chance at the position so take advantage of the opportunity.

Although it is not acceptable to ask how you did in an interview, it is okay and
encouraged to ask what the next steps are and the timeline for them.  Depending on how
this is answered, you may be able to figure out their reaction to you.  But this is not full-
proof and is not a guarantee.  If they take the time to explain all the checks they need to
go through, how many people they have left to interview and so on, they are probably
interested and want you to understand that there is still steps left in the process.  If they
only tell you that you will hear from them within a certain period of time via letter, well it
isn’t as promising.

Look at the opportunity to ask your own questions as your chance to interview the
company.  Of course you have done your research prior to attending and have made up a
list that you wrote down before attending.  Show your preparedness and pull out the list
to ask your questions.  Things like company direction and expansion show an interest in
the business.  Feel free to take notes; it can earn you brownie points.  Ask questions that
are important to you as well, if vacation time and benefits are a deal breaker for you, find
out now what the company has to offer.

You can ask for a moment to think of an answer and during this time there is most likely
going to be complete silence.  This is fine and perfectly normal, don’t get distracted
because no one is talking, use the time you have asked for wisely and think of the best
answer or example you can give.

If the interviewer is taking notes (and most likely they are), be comfortable with the fact
that there is going to be pauses in between questions and they try and write everything
down.  This is actually a good thing because it means they have liked what you have to
say and want to remember it when they are later making a decision on who to hire.  Don’t
feel the need to fill this space, let them continue writing and wait for the next question.

If you have answered a question and it is met by silence and the interviewer is not writing
anything done, you may be at a loss as to what you should do.  It could signal that the
interview is expecting more information or they are not satisfied with the answer.  You
won’t know unless you ask, “Do you want me to elaborate on that?”  If the answer is no,
just patiently wait for the next question to be asked.

Don’t worry that the interviewer is not praising you on your answer to each question and
continue onto the next one.  They do not want to give you an indication of how you are
doing during the interview and are trained to be neutral when responding to answers, if
the respond at all.

The best way to do this is to put a positive spin on all of your answers.  Many interviews
will include a question along one of these lines:

*    Have you had a challenging relationship with a co-worker or boss?  Tell us about
it.
*    What conditions in a workplace make it hard to do your job?
*    How can people tell when you are in a bad mood at work?

Really, all of these are trick questions.  Yes, the interviewer really does want to know
how you have handled conflict in the workplace and how you deal with a bad day at
work.  But, they want to see if you can explain this without talking negatively and show
that you can problem solve your way out of certain situations.  Even if you have a great
story to tell about you and a co-worker, unless you handled yourself as professionally as
possible and the story portrays you in a positive light do not tell it.

If an interviewer asks how co-workers or customers can tell if you are in a bad mood,
there is only one right answer, “They can’t.”  You can (and should) elaborate on this, but
by answering the question in this vein you are showing that you can leave personal
problems and stresses outside the workplace without them affecting your job or others.

Be the kind of person that people want to hire, realistic with an attitude of getting along
with others and the ability to get a job done.

There are many ways to get into trouble during an interview and lying is the most severe.
Common fibs that are told include educational degrees that you do not hold, saying that
you are a manager when really you are a team lead and taking credit for a project that was
completed by a coworker.  All of these things can make you sound good at the time of the
interview, but what if the interviewer talks to your boss about the stellar project you ran
for the company when it really wasn’t you.  Your boss is not going to lie for you and if
you were in the running for the job, you won’t be anymore.

The best way to handle these scenarios is to tell the truth but put you in the best light.
Maybe you were a part of the project, instead tell the interviewer the part you played and
share the success of the project as a whole.  An employee that can recognize and share in
the success in others is preferable to one who doesn’t tell the truth or wants all of the
credit for themselves.

This does not mean that you have to share all anything that doesn’t put you in a positive
position though.  The key is to be honest and only bring up examples that are going to
highlight your talents and work history in the best possible way.  Don’t claim or state
anything that cannot be backed up by your references.

What an interviewer is looking for in an answer is your philosophy towards
circumstances that occur in the company.  Your natural instincts and personality is going
to come through at some point no matter what you have been trained to do.  Questions
like, “How would you satisfy a customer if they wanted to return something after the
return policy has expired?” can be tricky to answer.  The best way to answer them is to
begin with saying, “Of course, if hired I would abide by the company’s guidelines – but
in this circumstance I would…”

By starting your answer with this phrase you are showing that you recognize a company
is going to have its own policies and ways of doing things and that you are flexible
enough to modify your way of doing things to align with those processes.  Even role
playing scenarios for are a test to see if your way of thinking is in line with the
company’s.  This genre of question can backfire on you though if your answer is
completely opposite what the company is looking for.  If you have done your research on
the company prior to the interview you should have a good idea of how they handle
customers and sales in general.

A (Seemingly) Off Topic Question – These may be thrown in to the interview out of
curiosity by the interviewer or to gauge your knowledge on a certain subject.  It is not a
reason to dismiss the question though and not pay it the care and attention you would to
any other one.  Do your best, and if you really can’t figure out the correlation between the
question and the job you are applying to, you can ask at the end of the interview – along
the lines, “out of curiosity….”

You Draw a Blank – Ask for a minute to compose your answer, and do some fast
brainstorming.  If you feel that the silence is becoming uncomfortable, you can ask to
come back to the question at the end of the interview.  As long as you do go back to it,
this is an acceptable solution.  Silence is okay during an interview when you are trying to
think of an answer, do not feel obligated to fill the silence, concentrate on the answer you
want to give.

You Don’t Know What to Say – If it is a matter that you are sure what the interviewer is
looking for in an answer, ask for clarification.  Sometimes asking for an example of what
they mean can guide you in what you should say.  If you take a shot in the dark, you
might provide what they want – but why take the chance?

Look up the company website and study the history, about us page, and the products and
services that are offered.  Even if you are pretty sure you are not going to be quizzed on
how the company came to be, it will give you insight into how the company operates and
their philosophy.  By of these factors should influence how you answer your questions. If
it is obvious they place high value on team players, you should brainstorm situations
when you have displayed this trait.

If you are applying for a sales position, you can be prepared for any role playing
questions because you have taken the time to learn the company’s products and services.
It will be impressive to your interviewer that you have taken the time to research the
information.  It shows a commitment to details and a true interest in the company.

Another way to prepare for an interview is to complete a practice run with a friend or
family member.  Have them ask you questions and answer them as if you were already in
the interview, don’t break character during the role play either.  There are many questions
that are asked in a typical interview (what are your strengths and weaknesses) don’t let
them come as a surprise to you – practice so you can answer with confidence.

A personal connection can take numerous forms.  If you are in the interviewer’s office
and they have a picture of a sailboat on their wall (and you happen to love sailing), make
an appropriate comment that identifies you as a sailor too.  This may not put you above
others more qualified than you but it will help you to stand out amongst those you are in
direct competition with.

Take your cues from the interviewer, if they seem uncomfortable with relaying any
personal information or are not comfortable veering off topic then follow their lead.  If a
personal conversation does develop, let the interviewer guide it.  When they bring it to a
close and either get back to the questions or say good bye, leave it at that.

At the end of the day, interviewers want to hire people that are qualified and who will fit
in with the rest of the team at the company.  If you can make a connection and have the
right skill sets you will be giving yourself a better chance than someone else.  You will
also help the interviewer recall who you are and stick out in their mind as that candidate
who knew a lot about sailing.

If you are not comfortable with discussing personal topics during an interview, don’t feel
that you must go out of your way to do so.  At the end of the day, your qualifications are
what you should be highlighting.

Make eye contact, nothing is more of a dead give away of poor self-confidence than a
person that will not look someone in the eye.  Walk up to your interviewer, extend your
hand and look in them in the eye when you greet them and express your pleasure of
meeting them.  And don’t beat around the bush when you are talking.  Saying thinks like,
“Well, I kind of helped with a project but I didn’t run it myself,” screams I do not think I
am worthy of this position.  Instead, say this, “I assisted in a very successful project and
played a key role in bringing it to completion.”  Your role in the project may not have
changed the perception the interviewer has of you has.

If you haven’t been on very many interviews or it has been some time since you last
attended one, it is understandable to be nervous.  The more interviews you complete, the
more confidence you will gain in your abilities to sell yourself.  And you have to
remember that if you were not qualified you would not have gotten the interview in the
first place.  Use that knowledge to your advantage and instill confidence in yourself.  As
a back-up measure, get some friends or family members to remind you of all of your
great traits and what makes you special – an ego boost before an interview can certainly
boost your confidence level.