Tips to Ace Your Panel Job Interview

Job interviews can be very stressful. You are on display in front of the interviewer. The interviewer is responsible for either deciding if you get the job and/or move on to the next interview. The only thing more nerve racking then a job interview, is a panel interview. The panel interview consists of being interviewed by more than one person. The panel interview can add another layer of nervousness to the job interview. There are some tips that will help you ace your panel interview.

Panel job interviews are not used to increase your nervousness. Panel job interviews are used to save the company time and/or money. Panel interviews are often used for positions that will interact with multiple departments. Conducting job interviews, in panel form, allows interviewers from multiple departments to speak with you. This keeps the company from needing to schedule multiple individual interviews with a representative from each department.

Eye contact because very important during a panel job interview. Eye contact shows that you care about what the person is saying and shows the person respect. During a panel job interview it can be confusing to know which interviewer to make eye contact with. Ignoring eye contact altogether can hurt your job interview success. During a panel job interview, keep eye contact with the interviewer that is asking the current question. When answering a question, move eye contact from job interviewer to job interviewer. Moving your eye contact, helps to show respect to each person doing the interviewing. This approach allows each interviewer to feel that you recognize they have their own point of view and are addressing it.

In a panel job interview, one person may seem to be the spokesperson, for the interviewers. It may seem that the other interviewers are just there to observe. This does not mean that you should ignore the other panel interviewers. First, it is important not to let this increase pressure on you. Having people watching you, without talking, may seem increasingly stressful. Remember, this is not out of the ordinary. You should still move your glance from one interviewer to the next, when answering questions. When the spokesperson is addressing you, you should maintain eye contact with only that person.

Panel job interviews can certainly add an extra level of stress; however, panel interviewers are not used to put you on the "hot seat". Companies use panel interviews to get several different interviewers' opinions, during one job interview. During a panel interview, it is important to make eye contact with each interviewer and to keep eye contact with the person addressing you. These tips will help you ace your job interview and rise above other job candidates.