How to Master the Panel Interview

If you are job hunting for a pharmacy position, you will face different interview situations as you apply to various pharmacies or healthcare organizations. One of those situations may be a panel interview. In this type of interview, you meet with several people who will be asking you questions. This obviously makes things a little more complicated. Here are a few tips on how to handle this type of interview.

Find out who will be on the panel.

The people on the panel will be from different departments, and they will be concerned with your qualifications as they relate to their particular area. To be more effective, try to find out in advance who will be at the interview and what departments they represent. You can usually do this through your company contact.

Address each person with your answers.

When you answer a question, try to show how you will interact with each person’s department. In other words, don’t simply focus on addressing the issues of just one person on the panel, but of everyone.

Concentrate on eye contact and body language.

Don’t just focus your attention on one person on the panel. As you address each person, make eye contact with each individual, and turn to face each person directly as you speak.

Slow the pace.

With a panel interview, you’ll be getting a lot of questions coming at you pretty quickly. Each person on the panel wants to get their questions answered and will be competing for time with everyone else on the panel. So, you might end up with people asking questions before you have finished answering the previous one.

When asked a question, pause a moment to consider your answer. If someone interrupts you before you have finished, you have two choices: You can simply pivot to the new question and answer that, or, if you feel you still have important things to say about the previous question, say that you would like to add a few things about the first question before you answer the second question.

Be ready for follow-up questions.

In a panel interview, a question from one person may elicit a question from someone else, so you may be answering additional follow-up questions. To prepare, make sure you are well stocked with a number of examples and anecdotes to show your skills and experience.

Insurance Relief™ is the place to go if you are an insurance professional looking for a job. We have received a coveted Best of Staffing award given by the satisfaction survey firm Inavero, for our high approval ratings from workers and client companies. Give us a call today.