What is Panel Interview?
A panel interview has candidates interviewed by two or more interviewers simultaneously. The panel might be made up of a variety of persons. It might be the supervisor as well as other team members. It might also be an HR representative and numerous coworkers. The panel may include members of teams with which you collaborate but are not allocated. If you're applying for a supervisory role, it may even involve direct reporting.
However, a panel interview should not be confused with a group interview. A panel interview involves numerous interviewers questioning you simultaneously (meaning you are the only candidate in the room).
Panel interviews are usually held for important reasons such as:
- Pressure handling capability analysis
- Communication skills and the candidate's ability to socialise
- The interviewee's adaptability to various sorts of individuals
- The ability to cooperate with every employee and how well they get along with all members
- Personality traits or how well they establish business etiquette during an interview
- The candidate's ability to multitask when offered many questions at once
Panel interviews have several advantages
- They save a lot of time:
A panel interview saves a significant amount of time. The interviewer saves considerable time and works by doing a panel interview instead of a series of interviews such as one-on-one interviews, Skype interviews, and phone interviews.
For example, the entire time and work involved in the other procedure would be roughly three hours. In the event of the panel interview, the whole process would be completed in an hour.
- Better assessment than one-on-one interviews: Because several interviewers are in the exact location, the candidate will be evaluated from diverse perspectives.
As a result, the candidate would be evaluated more effectively than if a single individual interviewed them. One advantage of having a panel interview is that the candidate is considered relatively.
- No place for bias or personal preference: Because there are so many interviewers on a panel, there is no room for prejudice or personal preference.
There will be no personal preference or concealed bias. One benefit for the interviewee and the business is selecting the best applicant.
- Better assessment from different perspectives: In a panel interview, there may be many talented individuals, each of whom may be strong in their work function.
One may be vital in human resources, technically proficient, and have diverse intellectual levels.
As a result, the questions answered will have a distinct viewpoint, which will aid in the assessment and selection of the candidate.
- It familiarises the candidate with the team as well as the company's work culture.
After a panel interview, the interviewee will be familiar with the entire team and have a clue about the company's culture, senior employees' expectations, and greater familiarity with them.
As a result, the panel interview assists them in becoming acquainted with the team and the company's work culture.
- More credibility: Panel interviews are usually regarded as a credible approach since they are a specific interview procedure performed by panel members.
This whole interview process includes interviewers of all ages and individuals with varying levels of expertise. As a result, this interview is thought to produce dependable results.
- Format consistency: In most panel interviews, interviewers usually keep to a set format of asking questions, such as in sequence.
As a result, the outcomes of panel interviews will be uniform and straightforward, whether favourable or unfavourable.
- Training for new panel members: Panel interviews are also a helpful interview approach for interviewers.
Sometimes interviewers require additional experience to perform an interview. In this situation, panel interviews would help them get valuable interviewing experience.