It’s common to use a panel interview for churches, Christian organizations, and nonprofits to discover the best potential candidates for their open positions. This way of functioning offers so many advantages.
The variety of people that participate brings perspective on the candidate and it also allows the interviewee to meet several staff members. You can verify distinct aspects of an applicant’s experience and character when they have a good panel interview. The rapid-fire type of questions lets the cream of the crop on communication rise to the top.
Putting 3 people together doesn’t guarantee a successful panel interview. Once you’ve decided that a panel interview is necessary, you will need a procedure. Follow these 12 guidelines, and you can rest assured you’ll certainly achieve success in the long term.
Before You Conduct Your Panel Interview
1. Should I Hold a Behavioral, Competency, or Situational Interview?
Deciding what you want to survey on your candidate is the first step you need to take. There are 3 types of interviews you may want to specifically conduct: behavioral, competency, and situational interviews.
What Is a Behavioral Interview?
The behavioral interview seeks to discover the applicant’s suitability for your organization. You know when you say you want the perfect fit for x, y, or z. Well, this is the perfect interview for that. You’ll be reviewing the candidate’s work experience, education, and skills.
Past behavior is often a good predictor of future behavior. You’ll discover the interviewee’s qualities, personal attributes, and attitudes. You’ll be able to assess if this is a good cultural and team fit.
What Is a Competency Interview?
On the other hand, the competency panel interview is all about finding out if your aspirant employee has the necessary abilities to excel and thrive in the role you’re offering. The goal is not to define if the fit will be good or not, this is about determining the capacity to do the job.
What Is a Situational Interview?
The situational panel wants to put the candidate in role-playing situations where you can distinguish what could happen in real life. You want to gain insight into how the person would react in given situations. If your candidate knows what to say, the answers will flow easily and sound great. This is why many panels ask quick questions and demand short answers for these.
Many panels conduct a mixture of all three types of interviews, which is totally fine, as long as you know which questions are supposed to feed what you are trying to discover. A competence question reveals capacity while a situational one will tell you a given reaction to that competency.
2. Determine and Prepare Panel Interview Participants
The right members for the panel are the second most important part of your process. It’s not about having 3 or 4 people on the panel. It’s about having the right people.
To make sure you have the right teammates, prepare them for the type of interview you’ll be leading. If you’re planning more than one panel, which you should, you’ll want to include people from different levels of your organization – the pastor, the principal, assistants, admins, deacon, board members, and even volunteers if you can. If you’re really on top of your game, you even assemble people with different personality types on your board.
3. Include a Direct Report on the Panel
Since you’re trying to uncover the hidden pearl in an ocean of candidates, make sure that you include on the panel someone who would be a direct report (DR) to the applicant. The reasoning is that the direct report will want somebody that he can work well with, trust, and maybe even have fun with. After all, compatibility is an important component of building great teams.
4. Make Sure You Have a Coworker Present
At least one coworker should be on the panel. People who work for your school, church, or non-profit know what is necessary to be good at what needs to be done. It also gives insight for the applicant to meet the people who could be potential teammates. A happy employee works and performs better. Religious organizations should always make sure the chemistry between teammates can work.
5. Have a Screener on Your Panel
A screener would be the person on the panel who observes more than actively participates in the process. The screener needs to be aware of the role and job requirements, and should be committed to being conscious of what is communicated … and not said! The interactions happening in 60 minutes are varied, and your screener should note them. The analysis will be important during the debrief. (See point 11.)
6. Prep and Assign Interview Questions
This goes without saying but make sure you have questions ready to ask! I have been interviewed once by a panel and none of the people actually knew how to ask questions and follow up ones because they didn’t have any questions ready!
You should plan for 1 question every 5 minutes of the interview duration. A 60-minute interview means you should have 12-14 questions ready. Assign specific questions to each panel member.
7. Print Your Candidate’s Documents
In your willingness to be ready, professional, and be an organization worthy of working for it, the following relevant documents should be printed beforehand. You will need the resume and cover letter as well as the job description. If there was an application process done online, this should also be included.
The interview questions should also be printed out with some space to put notes in. This may be obvious, but trust me, it needs to be said as it is often forgotten!
8. Choose Your Interview Room
Choose the right room to conduct your panel. A cubicle won’t cut it. A bigger room with a wide-angle camera is necessary. Think about it. You don’t want 3-panel members almost sitting over each other or not being seen on the interviewee’s screen! Avoid long rooms and tables as well. Those are not very conducive for openness. As you choose the right sized room, ensure you have adequate sounds as well!
During the Panel Interview
9. Make Your Introductions
At the start of the interview, make sure you present everyone on the panel by mentioning their names and roles within the organization. The person doing the presentation is considered the leader of the panel. This cannot be understated as you want your job seeker to know who he or she is meeting.
10. Let Your Candidate Express Themselves
Let your candidate express himself. Often, the church or organization wants to uncover and discover everything about the candidate. But remember, the candidate also wants to identify if you’re a right fit for him! Let your applicant have time to answer, ask questions, and be himself! The more conversational you are, the more you will learn. And vice versa.
After the Panel Interview
11. Debrief Immediately After the Interview
The debriefing part is important and should happen right after the actual interview. Panelists will share impressions, notes, and observations. As you know, a panel was planned to gain diverse perspectives and eliminate biases as much as possible. In your debrief, you should allow yourselves to compare candidates.
12. Ask For Outside Help
Last but not least, you may want to consider also hiring a Human Resources partner firm or individual to conduct one or some of the interviews. They are professionals at what they do. You may even have someone within your organization who works for such a company or has experience in the domain. They might be willing to help you out. The idea here is that asking for help is totally ok, and it’s not a sign of weakness or lack of excellence.
Conduct Each Panel Interview the Same Way
Since you will conduct different panel interviews, make sure you follow these guidelines and observe them with each candidate! Then, you’ll be able to compare apples with apples, or in this case, great candidates with less qualified ones, and make a wise choice that will propel your organization forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions Christian employers might ask:
1. How can we create a welcoming atmosphere for candidates in a panel interview?
To set candidates at ease, start with brief introductions from each panelist and a warm, friendly tone. Allowing a few moments for small talk and providing a clear overview of how the interview will proceed can make candidates feel more comfortable.
2. What should we do if a candidate’s answer is unclear or incomplete?
If a candidate doesn’t fully address a question, encourage panelists to ask follow-up questions or seek clarification in a supportive way. This approach can help draw out valuable insights without making the candidate feel pressured or defensive.
3. How do we handle situations where panelists disagree on a candidate’s suitability?
Encourage panelists to openly discuss their perspectives during the post-interview debrief, focusing on specific examples from the interview. Finding alignment on key qualifications and role requirements can help the team reach a balanced decision.
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