Surviving the Panel Interview: Eyes, Pace, and Proxy Questions

Panel interviews invert the cues of a normal conversation. You can't make eye contact with everyone at once. You can't read which silences are awkward and which are deliberate. Several of the panelists may be silently writing while you talk. Candidates who've never done a panel almost always over-perform for the loudest person in the room and under-perform for the decision maker.

Distribute eye contact deliberately

Anchor your answer on the person who asked the question. Then, as your answer extends past one or two sentences, make brief eye contact with each of the other panelists. Return to the asker for your closing line. This is unnatural at first, but it tells everyone in the room they're part of the conversation.

Spot the proxy questions

On a panel, you'll often get a question that one panelist has clearly been asked to deliver on behalf of someone else — usually the most senior person in the room. The senior person's reaction to your answer matters more than the asker's. Watch for nods, frowns, and the moment they jump in with a follow-up.

Names and notes

• Write down each panelist's name and role at the start of the call.
• Use names sparingly — once or twice per answer, not constantly.
• Take a beat before answering complex questions. Saying 'let me think about that for a moment' is fine.

Close with one collective question

At the end, ask one question to the panel as a whole. Something like 'When you all hire well, what does someone tend to do in their first six months that surprises you?' invites everyone to weigh in, and the differences between their answers are some of the most useful data you'll get.