6 Common Questions for a Panel Interview (With Sample Answers)
If you have an interview with a company that values teamwork, the company may ask you to meet with a group of people. In a traditional interview, the candidate meets with one interviewer, but in a panel interview, more than one person from the company talks with the candidate. With practise, you can show that you can stay on task and work well with others by how you approach panel interviews.6 Common Questions for a Panel Interview (With Sample Answers)
In this article, we’ll look at some of the most common questions you might be asked at a panel interview and talk about how to give good answers.
Questions and answers from a panel interview
Most of the time, a panel interview will focus on how you act at work and how well you work with others on a team. Your answers to these questions can help the interviewers see you as someone they can trust to join their team because you are reliable and good at talking to people.
1. Tell us something about yourself.
A panel-style interview lets more than one person see how you might fit in at the office. Panel interviews are more social than traditional interviews, so it might help to think of the process as a conversation.
But keep your answer focused on your career path, skills, and traits. Think about the atmosphere of the company, how your professional achievements can help your potential employer, and how you can use your answer to talk to everyone in the room as you prepare for this question.
“I have been a graphic designer for more than four years. Design is often a very collaborative process, and I like talking to my team members about campaign ideas and incorporating their feedback into the projects I’ve made. You said earlier that one of your company’s core values is teamwork. Knowing that this company places such a high value on communication makes me even more excited to join your team.
2. What would a co-worker say about you?
This question gives you a chance to show how well you can get along with other people at work. When you think about how to answer this question, think about the person with whom you work best and what they might say about you. Be honest in your answers and point out what you do well.
“I try to show those on my team how much I appreciate them. My coworkers would say that I appreciate their skills and make the workplace a better place to be. If I see someone doing great work, I let them know how important their contribution is. This makes the office a better place to work, and I think my coworkers appreciate it.”
3. Have you ever had a difference of opinion with a boss or coworker? How did you respond?
This question has two goals: to see how you deal with difficult situations and to see how well you can honestly think about what you’ve done. Think about a time when you dealt with a problem differently than your boss or coworker. Tell me how you got past the disagreement and worked to make sure you could talk to each other better in the future. In your answer, be sure to say nice things about your coworkers or bosses and focus on what you learned from the situation.
You can use the STAR method to make sure you show your skills when answering interview questions about specific situations. When you use the STAR method, you give details about:
- Task: Explain what you did in the situation.
- Action: Explain what you did to make the situation better.
- Result: Describe what happened as a result of what you did, using numbers whenever possible.
- Situation: In a few words, explain what’s going on.
Example: “Once, a coworker and I had different ideas about how to run an email marketing campaign. After that day’s team meeting was over, I talked to her alone. I told her why I thought my plan was a good one and asked her to tell me how she came up with her ideas. We talked about our points of view in a very honest way and came to the conclusion that our two strategies were meant to solve different problems. After we realised this, we came up with a whole new plan that would take into account both of our points of view. In the end, we were able to work out our differences and come up with a better plan for the campaign because of it.
4. Why are you interested in working for us?
This question gives you a chance to talk about your goals for your career and how they relate to the job. Employers want to know what you want to do with your career and how this job fits into your plans. You could also talk about how well you would fit into the company’s culture in your answer. Before your interview, look into the company and the job to get ready for this question. Make sure that your answer fits the company.
“I want to work for Sunny Tech because of how hard you work to make technology that works well in the classroom. It’s so important to give elementary students the tools they need to do well, and I’d love to be a part of that. Also, my job as field lead puts me right in schools, and I would love to see how your work affects students in a direct way. It is an important job that I would find very satisfying.”
5. Why do you deserve to be hired?
Use this question to talk about the unique skills and qualities you have that would help the company you want to work for. Think about everything you have to offer, including your accomplishments, experience, education, training, and personality, as you prepare for this question. Keep your answer focused on your positive and unique qualities.
“I’ve spent the last six years working in the entertainment industry. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about how to do good marketing and public relations. The work I do at Entertainment Corp. shows that this is true. Because I was dedicated to market analysis, I started as an intern and worked my way up to become a media executive. I am self-motivated and know a lot about how to analyse the media, which keeps me up to date on communication trends. As a marketing analyst, I would use the skills I’ve learned to raise the profile of your company.”
6. Do you have any questions for us?
When you have questions to ask at the end of an interview, it shows that you are interested and serious about the job. In a panel interview, asking questions that show thought can make a good impression on more than one person. When you ask the right questions at the end of an interview, you can find out more about the job and give more reasons why you’re a good fit.
Example: “What would you say is the most difficult thing about this job?” “What do you want in the perfect candidate?” “How do you judge how well I do this job?”
Tips for a panel interview
Here are some things you can do to get ready for a good panel interview:
- Bring a piece of paper and a pen. Write down the names of the people being interviewed as they say them. You can use this as a guide during and after the interview.
- Give each interviewer the same amount of your attention. As you talk about your answers, look at all the people on the panel. Talk to as many people as you can.
- When you say goodbye, make sure to pay attention to everyone. Say thank you to the panel as a whole, and then shake the hand of each person on the panel.
- Do your best to bring extra copies of your resume. If you know how many people will be there, bring one for each one. You should also print one for yourself so you can easily look it up.
