How To Interview For Project Manager

Can You Explain How You Would Manage Projects Remotely While Working From Home

PROJECT MANAGER Interview Questions & ANSWERS! (How to PASS a Project Management Job Interview!)

The interviewer wants to know your style of management, especially when you are working remotely. So, list out the strategies you are required to ensure that all tasks are completed on time when the team is working remotely.

Sample answer:”I focus on timely communications with all team members. I set remote working guidelines and weekly goals so that my team members know what is expected and continue to work productively, even when they are not physically present in the office. I would conduct weekly meetings to discuss the week’s goals, updates and problems.”

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What Is The Difference Between Program Project And Portfolio

A program is a sequence of interconnected initiatives handled as a unit. It is transient, just like a project, but it lasts longer. The program adheres to high-level plans that are supplemented by numerous specific plans.
A project is an attempt to develop a one-of-a-kind solution or product. It is transient and has a solid start and endpoint. The emphasis is on precise delivery.
A portfolio is a vast collection of projects and operations handled by a single group to achieve a strategic aim. It is permanent and integrated with strategic planning, unlike projects and programs.

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How Can You Communicate Riskseffectively To Stakeholders

Risks should be communicated before the project begins and during implementation, and after completion. Here, the interviewer seeks to understand ways you would communicate to stakeholders.

Tip1: State ways through which risks can be communicated.

Tip2: Briefly explain each method for conveying risks

Sample Answer

Iwill use the following ways:

Involve teams I will identify all the teams involved in a project. Following this, I will identify individuals like team leaders or individuals skilled in enterprise risk management. Entrusting communication to experts will ensure that stakeholders will acquire more relevant information.

Consider stakeholders location stakeholders are not always located near the project. To communicate risks effectively, I will identify a member of the project team who resides close to stakeholders. This could be in terms of time zone, country, or region. These individuals can convey risk information and respond to any concerns or questions.

Use technology emails, text messages, calls, and other means of communication provided by available technology.

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Pinpoint At Least Three Questions To Ask

Project Manager Interview questions in 2020

Project managers must provide clarity and direction during a project, making it important that you do the same during the interview. Before your interview, prepare a list of questions that will accomplish just that. Ask questions that will develop your understanding of the organization, the expectations for the position and the principles, methodologies and types of projects that you will likely encounter.

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What Do You Know About The Company Where Youre Applying

When it comes to your potential new employer, Davis says you should be as up to speed as possible. In an interview, the candidate would have to show that they have understood the role they are applying for and have taken the time to research the company and demonstrate this is the right role for them, she says.

Remember, though, that an interview is a two-way street, and an opportunity for you to ask questions as well. While you should know as much as you can about the company and the position youre applying for, youll only be able to learn some of the details and how exactly you might fit the bill by asking about them during the interview doing so shows youre serious about the job.

Its important to uncover the why behind the position, says Tushar Gadhia, practice director of consulting at Synoptek. This will help you determine the proper mindset for the particular job. Do you need to come in as a change agent and undo things that the predecessor set into motion or couldnt achieve? On the other hand, if things werent problematic, the company may be hiring a PM to come into the fold and get in tune with the processes they already have in place. Understanding exactly what the company needs from a PM is critical to ensure you are the right person for the position and know what will be expected of you.

How Do You Set Goals For Your Team And How Do You Track These Goals

Whether its deadline goals or overall project goals, setting goals is an important part of being a project manager, as it motivates team members and helps to keep projects on track. Be sure to give specific examples that demonstrate how youve set goals for your team in the past and how youve tracked these goals. For instance, you might have set a project completion goal for a specific project that required everyone to complete their part by a certain date. Perhaps you regularly checked in with team members to see if any obstacles could stop them from meeting that deadline and if so, you offered possible solutions.

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List Of Project Manager Interview Questions: Leadership And Communication

A good Project Manager needs to know how to interact with colleagues and stakeholders, as well as make sure they can motivate and lead team members.

PMs are often at the helm of a project team that includes all kinds of people with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Setting realistic deadlines, assigning project tasks and keeping teams focused and on track all require that PMs have top-notch leadership, management, and communication skills.

Expect questions such as:

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Project Manager Interview Question #1: What Are The Three Words That Describe You Best

This is actually a cliché interview question generally asked by human resources personnel. This shows hints about your personality and how your colleagues think about you in the work environment.

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When answering this project manager interview question, try to remember your positive attitudes and what your colleagues say about your work behavior.

The following can be a good sample answer to this interview question.

The project manager candidate answers the three words that best describe him. Then, he gives examples and justifications for each word.

Technical Project Manager Interview Questions

How will you estimate the sum requirements of a project?

How will you distribute budgeted money to all the phases of the project?

How will you facilitate streamlining of a projects activity?

How will you prepare work schedules for timely completion of projects?

How do you effectively direct a project team on their duties?

What are the effective ways to keep a tab on the progress of a project?

How do you communicate the technical aspects of a project with your team?

How do you identify technical problems and effectively resolve them?

After understanding the importance, role, responsibilities of the Project Manager and the necessary skills, it is obvious that assessing management skills is the vital part while interviewing project managers.

The idea project management test has been designed to assess project management, communication, and analytical skills of a candidate. The test must contain question in the following areas:

Project Management

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Risk Manager Interview Questions

Risk managers investigate and analyze an organizations risk potential and determine ways to reduce or control risks and liabilities.

The most suitable candidate will demonstrate strong analytical skills and have a proven track record of mitigating risks. Be wary of candidates who seem disorganized and inattentive.

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How Would You Describe The Outcome Of Your Last Project

Every project and organization measures success differently, and there are many factors that go into success in addition to whether a project was completed on time and on budget. This question can help to establish how the candidate evaluates performance and success and whether they can take away lessons for future growth.

What to look for in an answer:

Quality and quantity of work
Ability to set and meet goals
Capacity for growth

Example:

While the client and sponsors were happy with the results, I believe there is always room to improve and learn from the experience. I learned how to identify and address problems as they arise, and in the future I would spend less time on non-essential tasks.

What Is Your Leadership Style Of Choice

There are several different leadership styles out there and while some may be more popular than others, there is no right or wrong leadership style. In fact, your team members may benefit from different leadership styles depending on their unique personalities, the projects theyre currently working on, and the challenges theyre facing.

What the question means: While the terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, not every manager is a leader and not every leader is a manager. If the interviewer asks this question, theyre probably looking for someone who can be bothso its important that you know what your leadership style is.

How to answer: Be sure that you know what different leadership styles entail. Know the risks and benefits of your leadership style so you can confidently answer follow-up questions about your specific leadership skills like:

As a democratic leader, how do you ensure that your team still trusts you when you make a decision without their input?
How do you approach conflict resolution as an affiliative leader?
As a transformational leader, how do you combat pressure your team may feel because of your constant involvement?
What is your communication style as a transactional leader?
As a laissez-faire or delegative leader, how do you keep your team on track?

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Project Manager Interview Questions

Here are some example questions and responses to help you prepare for, during, and after your interview for a project manager. On the flipside, these interview questions maybe something you, as a project manager, are asked when seeking a new job. Regardless of whether you are a project manager or someone interviewing someone for a role in project management, this tutorial presents a discussion on such questions and the expected responses from them.

Project Manager Interview Questions On Developing Others

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Interview Questions And Answers!

A project manager relies on the team to execute activities to achieve the desired results. It is crucial that a project manager can assess talent, contribute actively towards developing, mentor, and coach team members, and offer constructive feedback to them. Responses to the following questions will reveal if you are someone who can motivate the members of a team:

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How To Interview: Project Manager

By: Dona Dezube

The best project managers are like axles they smoothly link management, clients and staff and keep projects rolling along.

To find the best applicant for your project manager job description, be sure youâre familiar with how to interview candidates to explore their interpersonal skills, business methodology and technical competence.

Interview Questions to Ask: Technical Skills & MethodologyTechnical skills make a great starting point for a project manager interview because theyre typically easy to answer, so they put the job candidate at ease.

Start by asking a softball question:

What software have you used to manage projects in the past?

Then try a harder-edge query:

If I gave you a laptop to plan your next project, what software would you want on it?

Once youve determined the candidate is technically competent, explore their methodology for handling projects, says Joseph Logan, author of Seven Simple Steps to Landing Your First Job.

Whether or not an applicant is a Project Management Professional , start by asking some general questions:

Whats your approach to managing a project?
Whats your school of thought on project management are you an agile person?

Next, ask more specific interview questions about methodology:

How do you do your scheduling?
How do you allocate resources?
How do you do status updates?

Questions about interpersonal skills can be general:

How do you handle politics?

Or specific:

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How Do You Communicate Bad News With Your Team

Part of your job description as a project manager will be to deliver news to your teamgood and bad. Whether youre managing people or projects, at some point, youll likely have to relay bad news to your team.

The way you handle sticky situations, like communicating that youre not hitting a projects goals or are losing funding for an exciting initiative, will be a reflection of how qualified you are to be a manager.

What the question means: The interviewer likely wants to find out if you have both the integrity and communication skills to deliver bad news to your team without causing misunderstandings or issues.

How to answer: Acknowledge that the challenge of communicating bad news is that you have to balance representing and understanding both the emotional response of your team and the decision of higher level executives. Explain that the best way to effectively communicate bad news is to prepare yourself.

Once youve prepared and practiced how youll deliver your message, youll do your best to use direct language when communicating the news to avoid misunderstandings. Its also important that you set aside time for questions from your team and establish next steps so they feel prepared for whats to come.

Explain The Concept Of Raid In Project Management

As you know, RAID is a critical tool for any project manager. It stands for Risks, Actions, Issues, and Decisions. To define it, RAID is a tool used by project managers to track risks, actions, issues, and decisions in an organized way. While answering the project management interview question, you should include the definitions of these four concepts as well.

Killer Interview Questions For Hiring Project Managers

Interviewing project management for open positions is something I have had to do but I dont find it easy. How do you know what to ask? And how do you use what is normally a really short period of time to let the candidate show themselves in the best possible light?

Added to that is the fact that its easy for candidates to come up with answers to many of the standard questions because there are so many books about recruiting and interviewing. They have plenty of time to rehearse their answers, so the whole thing can feel like a box ticking exercise.

Ive put together my 10 killer interview questions for hiring a project manager. Next time you have to recruit someone for your project team, why not try some of these?

What Is The Examination Eligibility

Once your application has been accepted, the one-year exam eligibility period will start. After the certification fee payment has been made, PMI will send an email notification with your PMI eligibility ID, which you will use to schedule a test appointment. You can take the examination three times within this exam eligibility period should you not pass on the first attempt.

How Would Your Previous Team Members Describe Your Management Style

This question provides insights into what type of manager you are. It’s an opportunity to convince interviewers that your project management approach suits the company’s work culture. In your answer, include comments from colleagues, managers, and other professional contacts where possible.

Example: “My previous teammates would describe me as charismatic and a dedicated project manager. I give my team members the room they need to be creative and develop their skills. I also like to monitor my team’s progress without micromanagement and offer guidance or assistance as they need. I feel this approach helps my team complete projects on time and meet other targets.”

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