Panel Interviews: What to Expect & How to Prepare

Panel interviews, where multiple interviewers interview you at one time, are increasingly common in today's hiring landscape. While your prep should look mostly like it would for a regular one-on-one interview, there are some nuances to keep in mind to help you shine in a panel setting. 

First off, why do employers do panel interviews in the first place?

Companies often opt for panel interviews because they allow for a more well-rounded evaluation from multiple perspectives. Different team members can assess how you might fit within their work and team, and it’s an efficient way to get diverse insights. While it might be way more nerve-wracking for you, a panel interview is simply an opportunity to showcase your qualifications to a broader audience.

So how do you maximize your prep for a panel interview?

Prepare for Different Perspectives

Before the interview, think about why each panelist might be included and what their priorities would be given their role and function in the company. Let’s say you’re applying for a mid-level marketing role at a nonprofit. The HR rep will likely focus on cultural fit, behavioral questions, and understanding your motivations. The hiring manager will ask for examples of your marketing experiences and other technical expertise. Team members will want to gauge how well you might collaborate. A fundraising team member might want to hear about times you’ve collaborated effectively on a fundraising campaign. You get the idea.

By understanding each panelist's "lens," you can better anticipate their potential questions and shape answers appealing to their specific concerns. And remember the STAR format is your go-to framework for how to share examples.

 
Develop STAR Examples for Cross-Functional Collaboration

Regardless of role, employers want employees who can collaborate effectively across the organization – and that might be part of why they’re doing a panel interview. So prepare STAR stories spotlighting times you bridged different teams, departments, locations, or functions to drive results. One classic question you might get is, ‘Tell us about a time you had to influence across teams to achieve a goal or execute a piece of work?’

 
Prepare 5-8 Strategic Questions

Panel interviews are an awesome opportunity for you to read between the lines, watch body language, and listen for alignment on questions you have about the role and company. For example, if you’re worried about the organization’s culture, why not ask everyone ‘what are 2 things that work great about the culture here, and what are 2 things that could use some improvement?’ Do the panelists look uncomfortable, is there hesitancy to answer? Are their answers consistent? Do you get the sense people are genuine or hiding anything?

Remember, this is also your time to demonstrate your genuine interest in joining the organization - and the best way to do that is to talk about the meat of the job. What are they excited about working on? What challenges are different teams wrestling with? Ask about their key goals, how those are set, how teams usually work together, and what success looks like. We certainly hope there’s alignment on their answers – but if not, that’s so good to know as soon as possible.

 
Think about your Presence

With a panel interview, your body language and eye contact become exponentially more important. You'll need to seamlessly and naturally share your attention across multiple people. If your panel is in-person, be sure to make eye contact with each panelist and be mindful of who your body is angled towards - you want to be as inclusive to all panelists regardless of seniority as possible. If it’s a virtual interview this is a bit harder - looking at the green light on your camera will make each participant think you’re looking at them. Of course you’ll also want to look at their faces, so just be mindful of where your eyes go while on zoom.

 
Customize Your Follow Up

As always, send your thank you notes the day of the interview, or the day after at the latest.  You'll want to send individualized thank you notes to each participant, with a sentence or two about how you'd see working with that panelist or their team. For example, in your note to the HR rep, you might reinforce your passion for the company's mission. For the team members, discuss how you'd complement their current initiatives or ways you could lend fresh perspectives. 

Panel interviewers can feel daunting. But with solid prep just like your one-on-one interviews, and some tailored prep for all of the panelists you’ll be meeting, you can transform the multi-perspective panel into your ultimate advantage. By showcasing poise and intentionally connecting with each panelist, you'll demonstrate exactly why you're the top candidate for that role - and organization.