Panel Interviews - Cool Technique or Crutch to Hide Those Who Can't Interview?

I'll admit up front that I've got some biases against group interviewing, also called panel interviewing, in companies.  I've been a part of those types of panels early in my career, and the biggest issue I have with the format can be summarized in one word - "groupthink".  My experience has been that the panel interview is ultimately driven by the friskiest, most aggressive interviewers, why the meek and mild sit back and might throw out one question or follow up when prodded by the person serving as facilitator.

As an interviewer and someone who facilitates the process within a company, if I have 3-4 key people who are going to have influence on a hiring decision, I'd rather spend the time and have them interview separately, then ask for feedback from everyone.  My experience is that I get the freshest takes that way.  When you do a candidate review in a panel, the meek and the mild continue to fade into the background, especially when there are vocal individuals with differing opinions at higher levels (ie., the boss) on the panel.

Still, I'd be foolish if I didn't mention that the panel interview seems to be getting sexier in corporate America.  I was at a user group meeting this fall and heard a guy wax poetic on the virtues of the Whole Foods (I've never been in one - I'm a PC) process, which uses a panel that can include more than 10 people. 

More on the panel interview from Anne Fisher at Fortune:

"Panel interviews, an import to the business world from academia, are getting more common all the time. The reason is twofold, according to executive coach Susan Whitcomb (www.careercoachacademy.com), author of Interview Magic (Jist Works, $18.95). First, meeting everyone you'd be working with at once is a big time-saver for everybody. But more important, meeting your whole team gives everyone a better idea of how well (or not) you'd fit into the group.

"When there are half a dozen or more people observing you at the same time, it's a lot easier to compare notes and reach a consensus" about you than in several different interviews, Whitcomb notes.

Whole Foods Market, No. 16 on Fortune's 2008 list of the Best Companies to Work For, has been subjecting all applicants to panel interviews for several years now.

"It was the most difficult job interview I've ever been through," says Ben Friedlander, 34, who was hired last spring as marketing coordinator for the retailer's Rocky Mountain region, based in Boulder. "But it was also the most interesting."  His panel was made up of 11 people, including the regional president, some store employees, the vice president of purchasing, and "basically everyone who would have significant contact with me," he recalls.

I'll concede that you can get a good idea if the person would "fit" the group in a panel interview.  Still, I'd be a proponent, especially in professional grade positions, of keeping the solo interview schedule alive and well.  You need it to get diversity of opinion regarding the candidate's knowledge, skills and abilities, and you also need to teach your young professionals how to interview.

The biggest drawback to the panel interview is that your young stars never learn how to go one-on-one for themselves and make an accountable call regarding who they want to hire and why.  

Keep the solo interview alive and well.  Do a final round that feels like a panel interview if you need to, and that way the peer group can meet the candidates and give feedback on "fit".

And if you're ever in an interview with me on a panel?  I'll be the guy forcing the quiet half of the group to talk.  I'll be evaluating them as much as I'm evaluating you.  Discomfort ensues....

Comments

[nelking]

I ran panel interviews for a local non-profit Executive Director. In this case it worked well because I told the panels they could not debrief after meeting the candidates. They each emailed their feedback to me.

This was a critical hire, where the ED would need to manage the dynamics of staff, artistic director and Board. If they could play well in an interview with those parties, they were going to understand the dynamics they were walking into.

The process also served as a way for the factions amongst the group to work together and all see the same thing at the same time. Opinions weren't that far off and in the end, we had a hire that everyone felt good about.

It can be a very useful tool but isn't always the right option.

[Bonnie]

I see pros and cons of panel interviews (I've been on both sides of the table for them). I think their effectiveness (or lack thereof) depends on how they are used. Some companies do combinations... one-on-one interviews first, then if you make it past those, a panel interview with the workgroup team. I like that model; it's the best of both worlds. Others use a panel interview as the first step, often calling in interviewers from outside agencies who won't really care whether the person chosen ultimately works out well or not... but at least they offer a fresh, nonbiased perspective (theoretically). And sometimes a candidate has a better chance of making a "connection" when there are more people involved.

Whether we like them or not, I think panel interviews are here to stay. The recruiting process already takes so long; panel interviews allow the process to be sped up a bit, and they're perceived as "more efficient." Notice I didn't say more EFFECTIVE.

Candidates need to learn how to shine at panel interviews as well as one-on-one interviews... the dynamics are different.

[Colleen Aylward]

I used to be a big fan of panel interviews since they could be dual purpose in training others how to interview. We would prepare in a role-playing "dry run" and assign the probing areas to each panel member and then provide a list of relevant questions that they could ask to uncover style, problem-solving process, humor, and communication skills. But this was when companies could afford a consultant to help run these panels.

I'm biased now because I market a video interview product, but I do think that the adoption of the video pre-screen technology as just one upfront piece of due diligence will help enhance a follow-on panel interview or eliminate the need. I say this because we are finding that interview teams will often group together (even informally around a PC) to view an online profile of an executive candidate to see and hear them (in a matter of minutes, not hours).

If the online profile product is a good professional tool, it will eliminate a lot of the "team fit" questions upfront. Then the interview team can bring in only the finalists and drill down on what they saw and heard in the online profile. This especially works well when all the candidate's documents are in the same profile online: their traditional resume, their video clips, their LinkedIn profile, their endorsements, supporting documents, and maybe even the results of a professional personality/skills assessment test.

If a panel interview follows this, the conference room could even have the candidate's docs and profile up online (on a PC or on the big screen) when the candidate arrives, in order to refer to docs or a specific video answer.

I believe the application of technology to the interview cycle, if done well, can save weeks of time in the process, and produce higher quality hires, not to mention the video conference costs of the Kinko's solution or the airline and hotel costs to fly the candidates in.

And how many times do you or your panel look at each other within the first 10 minutes and KNOW the applicant is just not right for the job? Then you have to be "corporate polite" for the rest of the hour or day...

[Sean Gale]

There is a way to conduct "panel interviews" without incurring the group think you describe. Its using video interviewing, like that provide on sites like http://activeinterview.com

I think the crux of the idea behind panel interviewing is right... it's tyring to make hiring more collaborative, which is great. So you need a way to make it more collaborative, without delving into group think terrority. With virtual video interviewing, you can get that because all hiring managers on the panel will see the same video, but in private (on their own schedules) and then be able to assess the candidates individually before sharing notes.