"The Panel Interview"

I got an email from a client last month that made me want to write this article. They’d interviewed a candidate with stellar credentials – exactly what the job ad asked for, maybe more. They didn’t hire them. When I asked why, the answer was telling: ‘Something didn’t feel right.’

This is the reality of the panel interview that nobody talks about. The decision is rarely purely logical. There’s always an element of instinct, of chemistry, of something that can’t quite be articulated. You can have every qualification and still lose to someone who simply connected better.

Is this fair? Probably not. Is it how humans make decisions? Absolutely. We’re not rational creatures pretending to be emotional. We’re emotional creatures pretending to be rational. And hiring decisions are no exception.

What does this mean for you? It means technical preparation is necessary but not sufficient. You also need to prepare for the human element. How do you make people feel comfortable? How do you build rapport quickly? How do you show personality without being unprofessional?

These aren’t soft skills you either have or don’t. They’re learnable. Watch people who do it well. Practice in low-stakes situations. Pay attention to what makes conversations flow versus what makes them stall. This stuff can be improved like anything else.

Some candidates resist this. They think they should be evaluated purely on their professional qualifications. That the human element is somehow unfair or irrelevant. And technically, maybe they’re right. But being right won’t get them hired.

The job market is a human system. Humans are messy, biased, and emotional. Working with that reality is smarter than fighting against it.

Competence gets you to the interview. Connection gets you the offer. Make sure you’re developing both.