What Panel Interviewers Are Really Looking For

Panel interviews can feel intimidating. You walk into a room or log into a call, and there are three, four, maybe five (or more!) faces looking back at you. Each person has their own lens, their own priorities, and their own definition of what a strong hire looks like. It is a lot of energy in one space. Luckily, panel interviewers do understand that there is a level of nerves with these meetings. They have probably been on the other side of them as well. But what many candidates miss is that panel interviews are not just about proving you can do the job. They are also about showing how you work with people.

When several team members come together to interview you, they are not only evaluating your technical skills or experience. They are also watching how you interact. They are noticing how you listen, how you respond, how you navigate different viewpoints in real time. A panel interview is a "sneak peek" at what you may be like in team meetings, in cross-functional conversations, and on projects where many voices are involved. Your communication style becomes part of the evaluation, even if no one says that out loud.

A lot of candidates go into panels thinking they need to impress every person in the room. This can lead to feeling like they need to dominate the space or give long answers that try to cover everything at once. The truth is that while confidence matters, so does collaboration. Most teams are not hiring someone who wants to be the star of the show. They are hiring someone who can thrive in their group setting.

Panel interviews work best when you find the right balance. You want to show your strengths clearly and directly, but you also want to show that you know how to pause, listen, and respond thoughtfully. You want to show that you can speak with authority, but also leave space for others. When you shift from “I need to impress all of them” to “I want to connect with all of them,” your energy changes. The room feels more natural, and the conversation becomes more human.

Collaboration is not something you can fake, especially in a panel setting. People can see how you naturally engage with different personalities. They can see whether you respect the conversation or bulldoze through it. They can sense whether you are open to feedback or defensive. They can tell if you recognize when someone else on the panel is trying to ask a question or jump in.

If you treat a panel interview like a team interaction instead of a stage performance, you stand out in the best way. Show up prepared, answer with clarity, and of course, share real examples. But also respond like a person who understands how to work with other people. Notice the dynamics and match the tone of the room. Importantly, show warmth; research shows that conveying interpersonal warmth during interviews can actually help reduce perceived anxiety and improve performance ratings (Powell & Feiler, 2015). So smile, and let the conversation flow.

Your skills may get you in the door, but your ability to work with others is what gets you hired. In a panel interview, the team is not just imagining what you can do for them. They are imagining what it would feel like to work with you every day. The candidates who understand that are better positioned to leave a lasting impression.

Powell, D., & Feiler, A. R. (2015). Behavioral expression of job interview anxiety. Journal of

Business and Psychology, in press. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-015-9403-z

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