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I went in to interview with a local auto parts supplier for a low level QA job. I was anticipating one or two interviewers but as we approached the conference room the HR guy mentioned that all the QA managers would be attending. He opened the door and there were six people in there.
I started to feel uneasy and felt like I was having a panic attack so I pulled him aside and told him I was declining the interview. There was no way I would have done well in front of that many people. I have ALWAYS had problems with public speaking/presentations and then the added "interview jitters" just got to me. Had I been told in advance it was going to be a panel interview I wouldn't have even went.
I do great interviewing with one or two people where I feel like I can have a conversation, apparently not so much with a interviewing panel.
I guess from now on I will have to ask ahead of time what type of interview they are conducting. I haven't interviewed in 20 years other than a few recent ones with just one or two people.
I feel like crap right now but this is just one of my "quirks" and now I am wondering if this is common for interviews. It is bad enough being nervous about an interview but to add a group "sales" aspect to it is just too much for me.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We generally have 4 people, one from HR, the hiring manager, and two others that would be working with the new hire. You are seriously limiting your opportunities. I'd like to suggest that you try to work on this. Interviews are stressful anyway, and the 20 year lag makes it worse,
but there are things you can do such as have friends do practice with you.
Have you talked about this with your doctor? A small dose of Ativan is commonly prescribed for these types of circumstances. I have some of the same issues with group speaking, never been something I could overcome. I would never do a job that involved that type of interaction.
I thought I was shy. The only real antidote is practice and suffering through it. When I first started interviewing when I graduated I would freeze and just kind of shut down and my communications and brainpower would greatly decline. As I got used to interviewing I became more relaxed and the effect diminished.
I am not a proponent of drugging yourself through an interview. Using mind altering substances is not a good idea before an interview where you have to be at your sharpest.
Consider taking a Toastmasters course of a communications course through the community college.
If I am going to interview for corporate jobs I will have to look into some sort of medication option. I have ALWAYS had this problem, I don't know why. I did a few interviews with four people at my old employer and since I knew them it wasn't an issue, it just seems to be the interview/large group of strangers combination.
I am not really interested in working for a large corporation but figured this job would have been something I could do temporarily until I found the right job. As luck would have it when I got home a guy I had been talking to about doing some contract work in QuickBooks called and wanted to go ahead with the work.
U kinda wasted those people's time. That's a shame.
Usually the group of people will make you feel comfortable and at ease. Any job panel interview i've gone on, the people have always made an effort to be nice and that relaxed me.
Just focus on each question they ask you.
Make eye contact mostly with the one person who asked the question, occasionally glancing at the entire group.
I think it is too bad(especially for a lower level position) that when the interview is scheduled they can't just tell you it will be a panel interview and who you will be interviewing with.
Instead it becomes a waste of everyone's time.
Had the OP known it was going to be the Spanish Inquisition they would have declined on the phone and saved everyone the trouble.
U kinda wasted those people's time. That's a shame.
Usually the group of people will make you feel comfortable and at ease. Any job panel interview i've gone on, the people have always made an effort to be nice and that relaxed me.
Just focus on each question they ask you.
Make eye contact mostly with the one person who asked the question, occasionally glancing at the entire group. They understand you're nervous and will usually start out trying to make u feel comfortable by mentioning something silly, such as the weather, or "did u have trouble finding us? I hope not" etc, therefore allowing you to say a few words to the group before actually interviewing you.
U cant live like this. A lot of "good jobs" are conducted in a panel interview type setting.
U kinda wasted those people's time. That's a shame.
Usually the group of people will make you feel comfortable and at ease. Any job panel interview i've gone on, the people have always made an effort to be nice and that relaxed me.
Just focus on each question they ask you.
Make eye contact mostly with the one person who asked the question, occasionally glancing at the entire group.
U cant live like this,
What is so shocking? To be interviewed by 6 people for a low level job is overkill.
If someone is professional when the interview is arranged the candidate will know the names of the people they're interviewing with and if it will be a panel interview.
No one's time would have been "wasted" if the OP had known, they would have said on the phone "no thanks". Knowing they don't do well in this type of interview.
It is too bad that this happened, however with a little communication on the part of the employer it could have saved everyone's time and trouble.
I actually prefer group interviews vs 1 on 1. The group interviews tend to put me at ease and take on the tone of a discussion whereas the individual ones often take the tone of a police interrogation.
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