Handling Multiple Interviewers At Once

By Mark Swartz
Monster Contributing Writer

At some point in your job search, you may find yourself interviewed by more than one person at a time. This can be a rattling experience if you aren’t prepared.

Panel interviews are more common in government jobs, academia, and for executive positions. Team interviews can happen at any level in a company. Ask in advance if you’ll be meeting with more than one person at a time.

Then follow our advice on how to handle these unique interviews. The key is to meet the needs of each interviewer present.

Why Employers Use Panel and Team Interviews

You’ve heard the expression “the wisdom of the group”? That’s the principle behind having multiple interviewers.

Especially in government jobs and academia, where any hint of biased hiring must be minimized, having extra interviewers helps keep things impartial. It also enables the interviewers to compare notes afterward for accuracy.

For other employers, this process serves several purposes. It lets each interviewer form their own impressions of you, based on the same input. As well, representatives from different departments can ask questions relating to their specialty.

Team Interviews

In companies, a team interview simply means having more than one employee at your session. Typically it’s two to three people. It could be someone from HR along with the hiring manager. Or the hiring manager, someone from sales, another from production, or whatever departments your role would interact with.

Team interviews can occasionally be set up as stress tests. One interviewer might be sitting far to your left, the other on your far right. One might be taking notes while the other peppers you with questions. Then they switch roles. Or maybe play good cop, bad cop.

Acing A Team Interview

The important thing if you’re being team interviewed is not to lose your cool. Easier said than done if you’re used to a single interviewer.

One way to reduce nerves, and make a stronger bond, is to treat each interviewer as an individual. Direct your answer initially to the person who poses the question. If your reply is longer than 20 seconds, you’ll need to engage the other interviewers too. Otherwise they might lose attention or feel ignored.

All you have to do is make brief eye contact with the other interviewer(s). If need be, slowly pivot your head to face another interviewer. Now speak to them as an individual too. If there’s a third person present, do the same for them. When shifting your gaze, try to do so in a calm, controlled way. Jerking your eyes, face or body can be distracting.

Panel Interviews

A panel interview tends to be more formal than a team interview. For jobs in government or academia, expect a series of standardized questions from the panel.

For each response you give, you’ll likely be rated on a pre-set scale. That way the notes each interviewer makes can be directly compared afterward. You’ll probably encounter behavioural questions, where you’re asked to tell a story about past accomplishments.

Expect anywhere from three to five panelists. Occasionally there may be more, depending on the role you’ve applied for.

Acing A Panel Interview

The same tips apply here as in a team interview. But because of the number of people, it’s harder to keep everyone engaged.

So don’t worry about every panelist each time you reply. Choose two or three people to address, one at a time, while you answer. Rotate through the rest of the pack as the interview progresses. And if you can find out in advance what kinds of questions will be asked, all the better.

Doing Well With Multiple Interviewers

Practice for more than one interviewer at once. Get some friends or family in a room and hand them a list of question to ask. Have each of them rate you on your responses.

In the real interview, start engaging each person from the start. Smile and shake hands with them individually. Ask for their business card so you can follow up with a tailored thank you note. Be ready to answer the question “tell us about yourself.”

It helps to find out beforehand who’ll be at the interview. Then, no matter if there are two, three, or six people present, you’ll be better able to relate to each one.