How Panel Interviews Can Make Hiring Easier

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  1

  Enrico Pallazzo

  07/22/08 | Report as spam

  Panels

  As the interviewer, I can imagine it would be easier to use a panel interview to gain extra information that you wouldn't get in a one-on-one. It probably gives you extra insight into the candidates' communication skills when they have to deal with the added complexity of commanding the attention of several people at once.

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  2

  CC Holland

  07/22/08 | Report as spam

  Tag-team approach

  Another benefit is that your co-interviewers are able to follow up with additional questions on a topic, whereas as a solo interviewer, you might not immediately notice holes in a response.

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  3

  jade408

  07/22/08 | Report as spam

  Panel and one on one

  I think panel interviews can be great, but I also advocate one on one interviews as well. If you are lucky enough to have one of those people on your team who can draw people out of their shell, they will also gather a host of information that wouldn't have come out in a group interview. It also helps to prep the panelists, and give them roles in the interviews to make sure you cover all of your bases.

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  4

  CC Holland

  07/22/08 | Report as spam

  Role playing

  Good idea about assigning roles! That can keep people from stepping over each other to ask questions. I'd think assigned questions, or at least lines of questioning, ahead of time would also be helpful.

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  5

  twincreeks@...

  07/23/08 | Report as spam

  RE: How Panel Interviews Can Make Hiring Easier

  Very dangerous approach. Committees tend to focus too much on candidate negatives, rather than positives. One negative can dismiss an otherwise very qualified person. Great strengths also come with great weaknesses.

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  6

  Melpo

  07/23/08 | Report as spam

  Pros and Cons

  There are obviously pros and cons to this one.
  
  As a recent interviewee to a role where I went through 13 interviews spread out over a two week period, I would have loved to have them all together in a panel. These guys were pretty good at interviewing, but I have been in other situations where every single interviewer asked the same trite interview questions.
  
  I especially like panel interviews for executive level candidates. They should be able to handle that kind of high pressure situation.
  
  It can be an issue when you have a highly ego driven company. Some companies are pretty in to the chest thumping and showing each other what bad-asses they are. That kind of interview will weed out the best candidates right along with the bad. On the other hand, you'll probably end choosing a candidate that fits right into your disfunctional organization.
  
  Of course, sequential interviews are good for the candidate. It gives one time to learn more from each consecutive interview and use that in follow up interviews. But, you might end up hearing what you really think instead of what the candidate really thinks.

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  7

  Rick Saia

  07/24/08 | Report as spam

  Panel Interviews: the Right Way

  The best way to organize a panel interview is to get a good cross-section of co-workers from various disciplines, preferably people who are most likely to work with the person who will get the job. That minimizes the chance a candidate will field repeat questions and offers the hiring manager a broad picture of how the would-be employee would fit in with the company culture. A panel of three or four should be adequate.
  
  On the other side, the employee can emerge from the panel interview with a clearer picture of the company since its values should be reflected in the personalities of the interviewers. Can all or most of them carry on an amiable conversation? Are they open and honest about the job and its impact on operations? If you like a workplace that thrives on communication skills and teamwork, "yes" answers to both of those questions are important. Nice post!

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  8

  David 42

  07/24/08 | Report as spam

  Glad to avoid it

  I am not a good intervee to begin with, I think a panel would make it even worse... i think I will get back to work now and try to keep my day job.