Panel Interview

In recruiter context

The format that throws off candidates most. Panels typically include the hiring manager, a peer, an HR partner, sometimes a senior leader, and at C-suite level a board member or non-exec. The trap: trying to maintain eye contact with all panellists. The fix: address the question to the person who asked it, then sweep the room briefly during the answer, then return to the asker. Different panellists are scoring different things — the technical interviewer wants depth, HR wants culture-fit signals, the senior leader wants strategic framing. One answer can't optimise for all three, so identify who you most need to convince and lean toward their scoring criteria.