Job Interviews: Succeeding with Panel Interviews
These days, job interviews often consist of a panel of three-to-six interviewers. A "team approach" to finding the best candidate can be beneficial for the employer. Each member brings a different set of skills, experience and judgment to the team, and can point out pros (and cons) about a candidate that the other interviewers might miss. Panel interviews can also be beneficial for the job seekers. In a one-on-one interview you only have one shot at making the best impression. With a team doing the interviewing, your odds are increased! Say for example that Interviewer No. 1 had a bad experience with your past employer and unconsciously (or consciously) holds that against you, even though you had nothing to do with what happened. Interviewers No. 2, 3, and 4 have no such prejudices and so could sway the vote in your favor. While panel interviews often seem more intimidating than one-on-one interviews, here are some steps you can take to ease your stress and ensure a successful outcome. 1. Relax. Remember that being faced by a panel of strangers (versus one) is better for you. 2. Smile. Everyone in the room will smile back and you'll all get off to a great start. 3. Greet each interviewer individually. Shake hands with each person. Repeat their names as you are introduced (everyone likes to hear their own name, and it will help you to remember them). 4. Include everyone when answering questions. Face and make eye contact with the person who asks the question, but then extend your eye contact to everyone in the room. You're speaking to all of them, not just the person who asked the question. 5. Get their cards. Before leaving, get a business card from each person in the room. These will come in handy when it's time to send your thank-you notes. (If they don't have cards, ask for their names again if you don't remember them; jot them down. You can contact the HR person or receptionist later to get their email or mailing address.) 6. Send individual thank-you notes. Immediately send a thank-you note to each member of the interview panel, but don't make the notes identical. Make it more personal by pointing out something that person said or asked. For example, "When you asked me about my marketing experience, I forgot to mention that in addition to my three years as a marketing representative at ABC company, I also participated on several marketing focus groups while working at XYZ company." Remember, a panel interview is an opportunity to shine in front of not just one person, but a whole team! Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, "Career-Life Times." Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.Best-Interview-Strategies.com | | | | RELATED ARTICLES You Are Not Entitled to a Job! Résumé Tips Fuzzy Headed Job Goals Lead to a Fuzzy Headed Life! May I clarify in this article what I believe to be "fuzzy headed" life and job decisions. I believe both are entwined: life and job. How to Recoup From Missing the Most Important Meeting of the Year Sometimes missing a critical meeting just can't be helped. Despite the advance planning, you just cannot make it to the meeting. Before you get out the guilt stick and beat yourself up about how stupid that was or how bad it's going to be for your career, take a step back and examine how to overcome your absence. Mastering the Job Interview - 5 Tips to Make Yourself Irresistible to the Interviewer So you've figured out, more or less what you want to do and where the opportunities are. Now; you have been called for an interview. Here are five steps for interview success for students and graduates: Interview Tips - Ten Top Dos & Donts for Winning Interviews In this day and age it can become increasingly difficult to even get your foot in the door and get an interview; once you've accomplished that you will want to make sure you continue to put your best foot forward and nail the interview as well. Unfortunately, as great as their skills, experience and education are; the interview is where many people lose a job opportunity to their competition. Understanding what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in an interview are critical to receiving a job offer. Your Value Proposition: A Critical Component To Having A Successful Job Search Your value proposition is a series of statements defining your worth. It is the value you bring to the table ? the skills, strengths, core competencies, marketable assets and accomplishments you can declare as your own. Your value proposition describes your uniqueness - your unique gifts. It is what differentiates you from the crowd. Your Resume is Just One of the Tools in Your Job Search A resume is a tool. It allows employers to see what skills you have and what benefits you bring to the table. When an employers looks over your resume they will most likely scan for highlighted points. Most HR people do this. This way they weed out your resume. Becoming A Home Inspector: What the Home Inspection Schools Dont Want You To Know Chances are if you're reading this you've thought about becoming a home inspector. You may have even seen the ads that say you can make hundreds of dollars a day as a home inspector. Home inspection schools put many of these ads out. They paint a rosy picture about the profession and how easy it will be for you to make a ton of money virtually overnight. I'm a Professional Real Estate Inspector and I'm going to tell you what the home inspection schools don't want you to know about this profession! So You want to be a Bodyguard? Then let me start by helping out. The politically correct phrase these days is not "bodyguard" but personal protection specialist, executive protection specialist or close protection operative, depending on your place of training and other preferences. ?How to Look Your Best in a Down Economy? As you know too well ~ many jobs have been lost during the turn down in our economy over the last several years. Important sectors as well as entire industries have felt the challenges of lost profits and reduced staff. Why Do Interviews Die: That Sinking Feeling and How to Prevent it! Interviews die because a mistake occurred. Sometimes, you've made a mistake; sometimes they die because someone who screened a resume did. Why Use a Resume Writer or Resume-writing Service? Here are some of the questions we have been asked by our clients or potential clients in the past, together with our answers to them. We hope you find them useful, and that they help you to make an informed decision. Little Mistakes That Keep You Unemployed If your job search is dragging on and on, you might want to look in the mirror. Because the person looking back may be sabotaging your efforts. 5 Ways to Combat Job Burnout Job burnout happens when the stress or prolonged frustration of a job or career contributes to emotional and physical exhaustion. The ability to cope with general life stressors outside of work is strained. This combination results in a lack of motivation, fatigue, irritability, and sometimes depression. Job burnout presents a significant challenge for everyone supporting the burned out individual. Networking Masterclass - Part 1 - Practicing Empathy Practicing Empathy A vital part of your networking skills is your ability to build rapport quickly and effectively with others. To build rapport successfully with another individual you need to understand 'where' they are coming from and have 'empathy' with them.  People often think of empathy as a mystical commodity, a special, almost uncanny ability to experience the thoughts and feelings of someone else. In fact 'empathy' is quite simply applied imagination and only requires a little exertion and discipline. The next time you are sitting in a room conversing with three or more people, try this very simple activity: Temporarily remove yourself from the conversation. Be very quiet for a few moments. Pay particular attention to the person doing the most talking. Imagine the following things: Imagine the physical sensations the speaker is experiencing. Mentally place yourself in that person's body, sitting or standing in a particular position, eating the same food, drinking the same drink. Mentally become that person. Do you feel energised? Tired? Irritated? Imagine what kind of day the speaker has had - using all your knowledge about the speakers' day. If you know little about the person, guess. Continue to imagine yourself as that person. How does your day colour and affect what you are saying? Imagine the person's relationship's to everyone in the room - including yourself. Continue to mentally be that person. What kind of feelings are generated by the people around you? How do they affect the things you say? Now step back into yourself and rejoin the scene. Does your own role in the conversation feel different?  Empathy, like memory is a creative act, not a mystical property and it requires imagination and practice. It lies within the grasp of all of us. What Recruiters Hate About Resumes And Cover Letters Today, I'm going to share with you the awful truth about resumes and cover letters. How You Can Find Opportunities For Foreign Language Proof Reading Work For those who are fluent in another language, foreign language (ie non-English) proof reading can be a great source of income. It is a difficult area for those who are not fluent to get into though. That is because, in order to be a proofreader, you must be able to do several things. It is not just spelling errors that the proofreader needs to fix. There are many other things that they need to do. It is important, then, that those who are seeking proof reading opportunities have the skills necessary to get the job done correctly. Perceptions How was your latest car wash experience? Writing A Great Resume, Part 1 Need a great resume to land that great job coming up? We are going to learn to create an eye-catching resume, using Microsoft Word. A Cover Letter Tip Guaranteed To Land You More Job Interviews! Looking for a new job?
|