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What to expect during the Practical Interview and the Panel Interview – Part V



This week’s article includes advice for preparing for the Practical Interview and the Panel Interview Sep 8, 2010 The Practical/ Audition Interview Everyone prefers to “try before they buy”. Recruiters would often ask the candidate to demonstrate their skills before they make a hiring decision. Thus, the interviewer would ask you to play out a hypothetical situation in order to evaluate your skills, qualifications and practical application of your knowledge. For example, you could be asked to do a sales pitch for a new product. This interview, although could be intimidating at first glance, is in fact a great opportunity for you to shine through with your practical skills in interactive ways that are familiar to you. Moreover, it could be the factor that could set you ahead of the rest of the candidates with equal (or even better) qualifications on paper. In order to best perform during a Practical Interview, we advise: • Prepare well in advance. Even if you will be simulating something you are very comfortable with, there could always be surprises. • Make sure you understand the task at hand. If there is anything unclear – ask. • Treat the exercise as “the real deal”. Take responsibility for your work and aim at the top. • Do not forget to send a “Thank you” message as soon as possible after the interview. The Panel Interview, also known as the Interview with the team, is usually preferred in a situation where the job opening fits. A group of relevant employees (many of which future supervisors and colleagues) will ask you prepared questions and then will evaluate you to make the final decision based on the varied impressions. Although this interview could seem intimidating, it has its benefits. In general, it is much more objective and reliable due to the multiple opinions and it is also much more time optimized. In order to perform well in a panel interview, we advise: • Be sure that you research the maximum information about the people who are going to be interviewing you – assuming that the HR, your hypothetical direct supervisor and someone from the department would be there is a rather safe guess so spend some time trying to put names and faces to these positions. • Bring extra copies of your resume. Although this is true for all the interviews, in this case there is even a higher probability that not all members of the panel will have your CV in front of them. • Be ready for a dynamic interview. As you are one facing several people chances are you will be asked rapid questions which could increase your anxiety. • Try to keep eye contact with all the panel members as you answer their questions, while answering to the person who is asking. • It is ok to take notes during an interview and particularly in a panel interview. This will help you remember names, particular concerns, facts, etc. • Send individual Thank You notes to the members   The Growinfinance.com Team   How to do a qualified job search How to Follow Up on Your Job Application First company contact How to prepare for your first interview – Part I What to expect during the different types of interviews you could encounter – Part II What to expect during the Open Interview and the Structured Interview – Part III What to expect during the Stress Interview and the Competency Interview – Part IV