How to Perform Like an AllStar During a Panel Interview
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Panel interviews can be intimidating if you aren’t prepared. Here, I walk you through several points so you interview like an All-star.
00:00 Introduction
00:53 The Obvious
01:31 Panel interviews are like tv talk shows
02:23 Preparing for predictable questions
03:02 Body language
03:39 Demonstrate your personality
04:43 Summary
05:11 Outro
Stupid Resume/Interview Mistakes: Communicating in Corporate BS
This is called “How to Perform Like an AllStar During a Panel Interview.” I’m Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter. People hire me for no BS career advice and coaching globally, which can involve a job search, how to hire more effectively, manage and lead better, deal with workplace issues in one form or another, career transitions, you and the totality of your career where I work for you, not for your firm and I’m there as your ally to help you sort through issues.
Panel interviews can be intimidating. But with the right preparation and mindset, you can perform like an all-star, impress the hiring team. And here are a couple of tips that are going to help you with your next panel interview.
Now, there are obvious things that would exist with any interview–you research the firm, the members of the panel, and if you’re not sure who’s going to be interviewing you, when they schedule, just simply to ask ‘who’s going to be on my calendar for today for this interview. If they mentioned three or four people, you find them on LinkedIn, you google them, because if they’re senior enough, you may have seen them at conferences, they may appear on YouTube. You’re looking for more about their background and interests, and what they value in someone so that this way, you can tailor your responses and connect with the panel members more personally.
And I’ll also mentioned secondly, that when you do a panel interview, you should be making eye contact with the individual people on the panel. So for example, if you’ve ever watched a TV news show, where they’ve had three people sitting opposite a guest, what they’re able to do, what the guest is able to do is make eye contact with each of the people as they look around the table where they’re seated, and make that connection. You do the same thing on your interview. And when you finish answering the question you always finish the answer, looking at the person who asked the question of you. So again, you’re kind of moving around the table, making eye contact, but always finished with the person who asked the question.
Group Interviews: The Way to Answer Questions
There’s certain predictable questions you’re going to be asked. And one of the things I want you to do, like I tell everyone is look at the job description. If you were them trying to evaluate you for this position, what might you be asked that will allow them to determine whether or not you’re qualified to do this job? You’re smart, you can figure that out. Dive in deeper, know that they’ll take it a level two deeper, and have someone pose those questions of you so that this way you can speak the answers, make your mistakes, and perform like an all-star at the actual interview.
Third, be aware of your body language. If you’re someone who kind of slumped in their seat, doesn’t make eye contact, does things that are turn offs when someone’s looking at you, you know, very simply you have to solve that. sit in a way that demonstrates authority. Sit in a way that demonstrates connection. Smile as you talk to people. I’m not saying you should sit there like an idiot smiling the entire time, but connect with them. And as you answer, you can go between smiling and very serious. Okay?
And that leads to the fourth point I want to make. Demonstrate your personality. Because although panel interviews can be formal, and very serious because they’re designed to be a little intimidating, don’t be afraid to show your personality as long as you don’t come across as a jerk. You’ll have stories prepared in advance, anecdotes about shorter experiences. You want to highlight your qualities and strengths that relate to what it is that they’re looking for, based upon the job description, and other things. You also want to get a sense of whether they can connect with you because as many of you have heard me say previously, competence is not only is not the only thing they look for in an interview. Self-confidence, character, chemistry, maybe a little bit of charisma, that they can connect with you as a person, that you care, because they want to trust you. No trust, no hire.
So to sum up, panel interviews can be challenging, but if you prepare and practice and rehearse, you can impress the team and increase your chances of landing this role. And obviously, you’re going to research the firm in advance and the people you’re going to be meeting with But the goal is to perform like an all-star, to feel confident as you answer your questions, because that confidence demonstrates your capacity to help them.
I hope you found this helpful. I’m Jeff Altman. My website is TheBigGameHunter.us Go to the site and go exploring. There’s a lot there to help you. And you can schedule time if you have just have questions for me, for a trusted advisor session. And, you know, it’s 30 minutes, I tend to go a little bit long. You’ll receive a recording afterward. We tape it, you receive that later. And I answer all your questions. If you want me to coach you during some part of your career, scheduled time for a discovery call, if you’re not comfortable hiring me yet, or a paid coaching session. I’d love to help you.
Also at the site, you can find out about my courses, books and guides. And also, the last point I want to make is to connect with me on LinkedIn. My page there is linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter. Have a terrific day and most importantly, be great!
Knowing When It’s Time To Step Down Or Quit Without Notice
ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter is a coach who worked as a recruiter for what seems like one hundred years. He is hired to provide No BS Career Advice globally. That can involve job search, hiring staff, management, leadership, career transition and advice about resolving workplace issues. Schedule a discovery call at my website, www.TheBigGameHunter.us
He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 2500 episodes.
Website: www.TheBigGameHunter.us (schedule a paid coaching session, a free discovery call or ask questions using my Trusted Adviser Services)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/TheBigGameHunter
Courses: www.TheBigGameHunter.us/courses
Main YouTube: www.JobSearchTV.com
No BS Job Search Advice Radio Podcast: anchor.fm/nobsjobsearchadviceradio
Video Podcast of No BS Job Search Advice Radio: Spotify
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffaltmancoach
Medium: jeffaltmancoach.medium.com
Resume & LinkedIn Profile critiques www.TheBigGameHunter.us/critiques
We grant permission for this post and others to be used on your website as long as a backlink is included to www.TheBigGameHunter.us and notice is provided that it is provided by Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter as an author or creator.
#jobsearchtv #interview #interviews
