Have You Ever Worked On A Project That Did Not Meet The Deadline
Missing the deadline or overshooting the budget are two common issues that project managers may encounter. The interviewer wants to know how you handle these complications. Use the STAR method to frame the answer for this question:
Example:”I was working on a project where a client wanted to add an extra feature. If we worked on this feature, then we would miss the initial deadline. After discussing with my team members, I provided the client with options. They could miss the initial deadline and delay the project’s launch with the added feature, or launch it as per plan and add the extra feature later.
The client agreed to stick to the original deadline and was happy that we walked them through the options instead of just delaying the project.”
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Have You Worked In This Industry Before
Does the candidate have project management experience in your industry? Thats important because they might excel at the project management methods your company uses or may have the right risk management skills to manage your projects. If they dont, its not a game-closer. Much of project management is the same from industry to industry. Perhaps they have strong project management skills that relate to your industry, such as project management software skills even if they dont have direct experience. However, if they do have experience in your field, thats a plus, so ask how those relevant projects panned out. Note how confidently they answer behavioral interview questions. You want an authentic person who is comfortable in the position.
How Do You Work With Sponsors How Do You Manage Up
Managing up is a topic Iâd expect to see covered in a list of senior project manager interview questions, but itâs appropriate to ask for any level.
Reason to ask:Managing up means working well with people more senior than you. Project managers do this all the time, so itâs good to find out how they make those relationships work.
Candidate notes: The type of projects you have worked on will have shaped your experience with senior managers and sponsors. Explain the project management role you had and how that related to the relevant executives. Your working style will necessarily be different because sponsors work in different ways, and itâs OK to acknowledge that.
Bad response: âI prefer not to get my sponsor involved. Theyâre typically a figurehead, so I donât bother them.â
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Pm Job Interview Question #: Do You Have Outsourcing Personnel Or Supplier Management Experience
Managing outsourcing personnel or supplier is a different project management skill. If you are applying to a company that works with outsourcing personnel or suppliers, this project manager interview question will be an elective one.
If you have a project management experience in a vendor, most probably, you will have to outsource and supplier management experience as well.
Let us first define what outsourcing and supplier are. Outsource personnel is hired or acquired by a company only for a limited time or for a specific project. For instance, assume that you are installing a database for a utility service provider in the scope of your project. You need a database administrator for this work. However, your company does not have a full-time database administrator. You have to hire or outsource the database administrator for a limited time to work on your project.
Suppliers are material, equipment, tools, etc. providers of your project. In your project, if you need database servers, and if these servers will be provided by a 3rd party company, this company is the supplier of your project.
After defining outsourcing and supplier management, letâs go through a sample answer for this project manager interview question.
The answer clearly shows the outsourcing and supplier management of the project manager interview participant.
How Do You Ensure That Your Project Is On Schedule To Meet The Deadline
What theyre asking: You need to live and breathe deadlinesyou know that much. The employers goal with this question is simple: They want to confirm that youre someone who can deliver a project on time and on budget.
How to answer: Start by recognizing that even the best-laid plans experience a curveball every now and thenevery realistic project manager knows that. Then, explain in detail your typical approach to ensure that projects run smoothly. Try something like this:
“Meeting deadlines involves a balance of scope management and schedule management. First and foremost, I ensure that the team has a solid grasp of the scope of the project. Everybody needs to understand what needs to be done before it can be done on time. Then, I move on to schedule management, including time management processes required to complete the project by the deadline. I think its important to make sure these processes and a detailed schedule are somewhere that the entire project team can easily access, so theres no confusion or question about when pieces need to be delivered. Of course, this schedule is flexible and will likely change as circumstances arise. But, thats why I also think its important to frequently check in on progress and roadblocks to make sure things are coming together in accordance with the process and timeline.”
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What Are The Benefits Of A Pmp Training Course
Working professionals often find it difficult to arrange the study materials and dedicate the time to prepare for the PMP exam on their own. However, they can avoid this hassle with a reliable PMP training course as they only need to enroll in the program. Access to digital material from PMI, step-by-step guidance, practice assignments, and mock tests are arranged by the PMP training provider, and classes are taken on weekends for the learners convenience. On weekdays, they only need to take out some time to go through the video modules.
It Manager Interview Questions
IT Managers oversee, maintain and improve IT system operations. Theyre also responsible for implementing new computer systems within budget and time limitations to meet company needs.
This is a senior level position, so youre looking for candidates with a solid technical background. Use these questions to identify candidates with relevant experience and in-depth knowledge of your industry best practices.
For this position, you need candidates who can manage a team of engineers. Communication and project management skills are keys to success, in addition to technical expertise. During your interview process, include questions about your candidates past experience working in a team and their ability to handle IT projects end-to-end.
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Project Manager Interview Questions
As a project manager, it is your job to oversee the creation and execution of company projects and ensure that all team members stay on track to meet deadlines. Expect interview questions that will assess your ability to lead a group and communicate effectively to members with different roles and varying concerns. As the scope, schedule, and cost of a project can change frequently, the interviewer may ask you to role-play a few scenarios in which a project deadline changes or several group members leave the company.
project manager interview questions shared by candidates
How Do You Delegate Tasks Among A Team
Each project manager delegates tasks differently depending on the team and the qualities each individual possesses. While the company you are applying for might have a specific task delegation process, explaining how you assign tasks can show your leadership qualities and how capable you are of managing tasks among a team. Consider showing the interviewer that you are flexible depending on the unique situation.
Example:”Every person has unique qualities and skills, and understanding how each individual makes up an entire team is essential in technical project management. While I believe every team member should be doing a generally equal amount of work, I also understand that some people have different skills than others. I would delegate more difficult tasks to those who could manage them. Team members who work hard would be rewarded and recognized to inspire the rest of the team to strengthen their weaknesses and progress their skills.”
Related: “Why Should We Hire You?” Interview Question: Best Answer
Jenn explains why employers ask this question, what theyâre listening for in an answer, and the best strategy for preparing for this question.
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I Have Enrolled In Pmp Course Before Dec 1 2020 How Can I Get Access To Digital License Keys
Learners enrolled in the self-paced PMP course prior to Dec 1, 2020: According to the new guidelines from PMI, the PMP training on the new exam outline will only be delivered in the live virtual classroom mode. If you wish to enroll in the PMP training based on the new exam content via the live virtual classroom mode, feel free to contact your learning consultant or account manager to upgrade. Once you upgrade your access, you will receive the digital license keys from Simplilearn.
Learners enrolled in the live virtual classroom PMP course prior to Dec 1, 2020: If you wish to get access to the digital materials from PMI, you can contact your learning consultant or account manager to understand the procedure.
Reason : Project Management Professionals Demonstrate Better Project Performance
Not all project managers are PMP certified. Consequently, project managers who lack the credential perform less efficiently than their certified peers. The standards for the rigorous PMP exam are higher than other pmp certifications, testing professionals on five project management processes: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing, providing the Project manager with a detailed, standardized, actionable set of project management best practices.
Further, in order to qualify for the PMP exam, aspirants must have an in-depth understanding of nine knowledge areas of project management, including project scope management, integration management, human resource management, time management, cost management, quality management, and procurement management.
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What Is Your Delegation Style
This is a question that is designed to ask about leadership skills. Explain what has been best for you and use examples of how your delegation style has worked well in the past. Even if youve never technically led a team before, its important to find an example of how you mightve delegated in the past.
FREE Introduction to Project Management Course
Tell Me About A Time When Your Stakeholders Didnt Agree On A Project How Did You Proceed
Other versions of this interview question:
- Tell me about your experience managing up to senior stakeholders.
- How do you encourage cooperation on your teams?
- Which soft skills are most important for a good project manager to have?
Monster.com notes that companies are interested in project managers who can inspire cooperation between all parties.
Interviewers are likely to ask you this question to draw out stories that will reveal whether you have the necessary soft skills to deal with friction on the job. Past work experience foreshadows future work behaviors, so come armed with examples that show how your personality, priorities, and skills help resolve conflict and move a project forward.
Try to recall stories from your previous project management experience that underscore your mediation skills, making sure to provide the context and outline the actions you took in response, and how those actions helped ensure the success of the project.
One of my favorite questions is Tell me about the most challenging project youve ever lead and how you overcame challenges issues? Then let them talk. Ill jot down a couple follow-up questions, but that question has uncovered a lot for me, says Jason Orloske, a VP of operations in Fargo, ND.
Try to avoid vague, evasive answers, or talking about how you had to get tough with a stakeholder to resolve a conflict. Remember, yelling at someone isnt a soft skill.
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Are You Ready For Your Project Manager Interview Start Your Job Search Today
Now that you’ve seen these sample project manager interview questions and answers, you can start your job search by creating your profile on Monster. You’ll receive job alerts on a regular basis, and once you’ve submitted your CV, we’ll match you with project manager positions that fit your background and career goals. Its also a great way for recruiters to find you online.
Additional Behavioral Project Manager Interview Questions
| What was a particularly difficult project you have worked on and how did you manage it? |
| Whats the biggest mistake you have ever made on a project? What did you learn? |
| Has a colleague, manager, or other stakeholder ever questioned your strategy? How did you respond? |
| Please try to recall a time when a customer or stakeholder was not satisfied with a project. How did you resolve the situation? |
| In your opinion, what was your most successful project? |
| Tell us about the most recent project that you worked on. |
| Can you recall a project that did not meet the deadline or budget? |
| Please recall a time when your stakeholders disagreed on a project. How did handle it? |
| Please provide an example of when you had to influence someone to achieve a goal. |
| Tell us about one of the biggest mistakes you have made in any of your past projects. Did it change how you work as a Project Manager? |
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What Is A Weakness You Have With Project Management
Your answer to this question can show your ability to recognize your errors and strive for self-improvement. Briefly describe what weakness you have or had as well as what you have done or are currently doing to fix or strengthen it.
Example:”One weakness that I have is sometimes delegating too much of a task to a single person. While I know someone has the skills to complete a task, there have been times when I have relied on a single person too much. I now try to minimally increase a team member’s workload to ensure the project gets completed successfully.”
Have You Ever Had A Project That Did Not Meet The Deadline Or Budget
Missing the deadline or budget are two common issues that project managers encounter. Here, you can show how you handle project setbacks. You can use the
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Situation: Explain the issue in a positive, constructive way.
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Task: Explain your role in the situation.
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Action: Explain what you did to resolve or address the situation.
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Result: Explain how your solution had a positive impact.
The STAR method allows you to clearly explain a real-life situation and how you overcame it.
Example:I was working on a project with a client, and they wanted to add a certain feature to their custom software that would put them over the allocated time. As the project manager, I needed to decide whether we should add this feature and miss our deadline or spend less time on another part of the project.
I met with my team to understand how much time it would take to add the feature. Once I had a very thorough answer for the client, I presented them with the options. They decided that they would accept a later deadline for the feature. We ended up delivering the finished product a month later than the original deadline, but the client was happy with the outcome.
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What Is Budget Management
The practise of monitoring and tracking revenue and expenses is known as budgetary management. Companies often have budgets for individual departments as well as an overall company budget
Budgets often have four aspects:
Revenue, Operating expenses, Capital expenses, Employee Expenses
There are two main responsibilities for successful budgetary management:
Budget preparation:
Creating a budget include calculating expenses, establishing spending restrictions, and establishing a tracking system.
Budget tracking:
Budget tracking is keeping a running account of all spending and income in order to reconcile the department, real cash flow with its costs.
What Is The Biggest Mistake You’ve Made On A Project What Did You Learn From It
The aim of this question is to assess the candidate’s ability to admit to their mistakes and learn from them. What to look for in an answer:
- Honesty when answering
- Ability to learn from their mistakes
- Experience as a project manager
Example:
“The biggest mistake I’ve made on a project was creating a timeline and budget that weren’t realistic. The client had a budget and timeline in mind, and I wanted to make him happy. I overworked my team to try to fit that timeline and we still ended up going over. I learned to be more firm with clients when setting realistic timelines and budgets. I still aim to make clients happy, but I don’t want my team or my work to suffer in the process.”
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How Easy Do You Find It To Delegate Responsibility To Your Team
Another important element of project management is delegation. You cant simply do everything yourself, otherwise, its likely your project will fail. However, whilst some people find it easy to delegate, others struggle to hand over responsibility to other team members. Often though, by having trust in your team and strong communication, delegation becomes easier and improves over time.
In your interview, make sure you show that you fully understand the importance of effective delegation and explain how you personally delegate tasks. If you sometimes struggle to delegate, make sure you explain what youre actively doing to improve on this.
Question #: Tell Us About How You Handled A Recent Management Challenge
This behavioural interview question requires you to describe a real-life example of when you ran into a work-related issue. Setbacks are inevitable, and the employer wants to be sure that you can handle these situations while leading the team forward. When answering project manager interview questions like this, consider:
- Talk about a challenge that ideally resulted in a triumph.
- What was the outcome? What steps did you take to resolve the problem?
Sample Answer:
“In one of my previous projects, I had to oversee the redesign of our company website. We had two teams working on it- the design team and the web development team. Towards the end of the project, we were working on a web page layout, and the two teams had conflicting ideas. We had a tight deadline to meet, and this was slowing us down. There were emails and personal messages going back and forth for most of the day. I knew that I had to take action. I organised a meeting with both teams to voice all our opinions. After some time, we did reach a compromise and continued with the project. We managed to deliver it before the deadline.”
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