Hostage Survival Skills For Your Panel Interview

Curious how hostage survival skills can help you nail your panel interview? Read on...

So what’s hostage survival training got to do with doing a panel interview? You mean other than both involving being trapped in a room with people that scare you? Well, let me tell you…

I remember sitting in a classroom waiting for a lecture on hostage survival skills, essentially what to do (and what not to do) if you’re captured in a hostile environment and taken hostage. Before the lecture started, I was thinking about what I would do in this situation.

I had a staunch mindset. I thought - I’d give them nothing! I won’t answer their questions. I won’t engage with them, I won’t co-operate, I won’t even look at them. I’ll be mute and passive. Essentially, be the ‘grey-person’ not the ‘heat-seeker’, lay low and pretend to be invisible. And I was convinced that this training would confirm my theory and I settled in for another ‘death by PowerPoint’ style lecture.

Man, did I have it all wrong!

The hour-long training is still one of the best training sessions I’ve ever had (and BTW, not a PowerPoint in sight). Delivered by a cranky old ex-military (I can’t tell you where I’ve served or what I’ve done kind of guy) with a thick Geordie accent. And what he told me completely blew me away and made me do a 180° flip on my approach and mindset and I’ve applied these principles to almost all aspects of my life, both professional and personal, with amazing results and impact.

Here’s what he said…

(You’ll have to image the thick throaty accent for yourself) “Your job, if you’re taken hostage, is to build a connection with your hostage takers”.

"build a connection"

What? Ah, no. My brain interjects. I’m paying more attention now.

He continues…

“Your hostage takers are people, not too different from you”

My brain interrupts again – Ah, very different from me – for a start, I’ve never taken anyone hostage. (Side note - I once took my brother’s AC/DC cassette hostage in return for the money he ‘borrowed’ from my secret (but obviously not so secret) stash, but that’s the extent of my hostage taking experience). Thankfully, my brain quietens down and lets him get to his point…

“These people, these hostage takers, they have a life, they’re people with a mum and dad, and brothers and sisters and probably a wife/husband and kids, and you need to build a connection with them and here’s why…”

“Your hostage taker will be making decisions that impact on you, ranging from how you’re treated while in captivity through to your ultimate fate”. He then went on to describe all of the possible outcomes for a hostage – from being released unharmed, to some less than desirable outcomes. And he went on to talk about how connection can positively influence those decisions.

"will be making decisions that impact on you...connection can positively influence those decisions"

When a hostage taker has to make a decision between two people for a horrible task or fate, it’s only human for them to take into account personal connection, no matter how small it is. Do they choose the polite and compliant person who’s given them a small smile and said a few kind words, or do they choose the stony-faced arrogant person who’s given them nothing but a hard time?

Geordie went on to talk about the skill of finding any small thing to make a connection; a small smile, a kind word, offering a small token, referencing family members and other psychological techniques for humanising you and pulling at the heartstrings of your hostage takers to form a connection and ultimately influence your fate.

Later on in our training we were given the opportunity to put our hostage survival skills into practice when our whole training group was taken hostage at (simulated) gunpoint at 3am, flash bangs and all.

Sitting in a classroom listening to strategy is one thing, having skin in the game and putting it into action is another thing. It was amazing to see how effectively this strategy worked. And even more interesting was witnessing the different outcomes for those that were building connections and those that weren’t.

"it’s only human for them to take into account personal connection, no matter how small it is."

So what do hostage takers and panel interviewers have in common? They’re both making decisions about your future fate. And the concepts that Geordie taught about how to survive a hostage situation can be transferred to help you thrive in a panel interview situation. And here’s how:

Remember that the panel are people too.

Yes, they seem intimidating sitting across the table from you, all official and stony-faced but remember they’re human too. They probably slept through their alarm, burnt their toast, had a battle getting their kids to school or had to sit next to that annoying person on the train this morning – all the ordinary stuff that ordinary people deal with on a day-to-day basis.

And remember…to get to where they are now, they’ve been on the other side of that table, sitting where you are. They remember what it was like.

Remembering this will make making a connection easier.

People skills are King (and Queen)

It’s easy to go into robot mode in an interview.

Stress + nervousness + pressure + anxiety + trying to remember everything you’ve studied = stiff cardboard robot with no personality.

The trap here is being so professional that you don’t show any of you and you run the risk of coming across like a robot with zero people skills (and p.s. – people skills are one of the #1 skills employers are looking for).

Remember that the panel are not only assessing your answers to the questions, they’re also assessing how you’ll fit into the organisation; how you’ll interact with other employees, clients and the public.

So yes, be professional and polite, but bring your personality and human-ness along too.

It’s ok (even preferable) to crack a smile, inject a little (appropriate) humour or tell a little anecdote.

What would you do if you were choosing between these two candidates:

A robot candidate with little ‘human-ness’ and zero people skills but who performed technically well in their answers to the questions; and
A warm candidate with personality and the ability to hold a conversation and build rapport but who performed middle of the road with their answers to the questions.

The choice is easy. And in case you were on the fence, the answer is #2, very much #2.

Make yourself a memorable person, not just a name on a piece of paper

In a large recruitment campaign, panel interviewers will be doing interviews all day and honestly, after a while, the candidates start to blur into each other.

Up until the interview, you’ve just been a name on a piece of paper, so an interview is an opportunity to make yourself more than that. Add personal details about yourself throughout the interview where appropriate. When answering questions, sprinkle in information about your life, interests, experience and traits. Don’t go overboard, and make sure it’s relevant and appropriate but peppering little anecdotes about yourself will make you memorable and personable.

Be Authentic

Present you, not who you think you should be. Using words and language that aren’t natural to you or saying what you think you should say instead of what you would ordinarily say, will give off the ‘something isn’t quite right here’ vibe.

Interviewers have great perceptive skills and are quick to identify when someone is disingenuous.

It takes a master actor (or a con artist) to create a connection with someone while pretending to be someone else.

Creating a connection requires the genuine you.

Reframe

People have a tendency to perform differently when they know they’re being observed or assessed. Sometimes this can work in our favour because we lift our game but other times (and for most people) we’re more likely to drop our bundle and under-perform.

So instead of thinking of your panel interview as a tense, exam-like situation where you’re being assessed, reframe it and think of it as a professional meeting that you’re actually looking forward to.

You’re looking forward to meeting the panel and showcasing your skills, talents and experience.

So, in summary...

Your goal is build connection.

Remember that the panel are people too. It's much easier to create a connection with another person than a faceless row of people.
Use the interview as an opportunity to showcase your people skills.
Use your personality to be a memorable candidate who stands out from all the other names on the list.
Be genuine and authentic. Be you, not who you think you should be - insincerity reeks and will do you more harm than good, and
Reframe the potentially stress full assessment situation into a positive professional meeting where you can showcase yourself.

(And in case you were wondering, my brother finally got his AC/DC cassette back but I’m still waiting for my $7.35 to be returned in full - not my most successful hostage negotiation 😄)

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