How Would You Describe A Project Plan
An interviewer can try to gauge your technical knowledge of basic project management concepts.
How to answer: Start by answering the questionâdescribe what elements you know to be an important part of a project plan . You can then go into an example of how youâve typically implemented them in the past.
When Was The Last Time You Didnt Delegate And What Happened
Good because: This will help you work out if they are happy to be honest and tell you about a time that something went wrong. This shows their capacity to learn from mistakes and how they deal with information overload. Delegating work packages is key to project work and youll want to hire someone who understands that.
Bad response: I never delegateits easier to do it all myself.
Behavioral Based Program Manager Interview Questions:
Anytime assessing a program manager that will impact others across the organization, its important to dive into that individuals core motivators and behavior.
- Describe the most recent program you managed. What was your contribution?
- Tell me about a time where you were asked to develop a budget and allocate resources to a past program.
- Tell me about a time where you were managing a program that was falling behind schedule. What would you do differently now, if given the chance?
- Tell me about the biggest challenge youve faced while managing a team of project managers.
- Have you ever faced a communication problem while managing a program? Who with and how did you resolve it?
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It Project Manager Duties And Responsibilities
An IT Project Manager plans, implements, coordinates, and manages large-scale IT projects. They utilize their team, as well as staff from other internal departments and external resources. An IT Project Manager may also be asked to establish a Project Management Office in the organization.Specific Information Technology Project Manager Job Duties include:
Tell Me About A Favorite Project You’ve Managed And What You Enjoyed Most About It
Asking this question might tell you which kind of projects the candidate excels at. This could help you decide where they fit in the organizational scheme of things, ensuring that you utilize their talents in the best possible way.
It also could reveal how much passion they have for being a project manager. Passionate project managers are incredibly excited about what they do. That’s why they typically don’t allow obstacles to get in the way of a project’s successful completion.
SAMPLE ANSWER:
“I loved helping to implement innovative new project management software at my last job. Although the project was intricate almost beyond belief, my team was ultimately successful in getting it off the ground. It was so exciting to watch as the program helped the enterprise seamlessly coordinate schedules across all departments. That helped us to predict, with uncanny accuracy, when initiatives would be completed.”
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How Do You Handle An Under
One of the many hats a project manager wears is the one of head coach. She’s responsible for the training, ongoing development, and motivation of all her team members. If someone on the team is under-performing, it’s her job to figure out the best method to help them get back on track.
Working around a team member’s slack or even replacing that team member shouldn’t be the first answer, and acting rashly can deal an unrecoverable blow to team morale. Look for a candidate who understands the importance of having the entire team working at maximum capacity and who is committed to helping her team members mature and thrive.
What Project Management Software Do You Have Experience With
The aim of this question is to assess the candidate’s experience with software you use in your workplace. What to look for in an answer:
- Experience with the same software you use
- Willingness to learn how to use new software
- Knowledge of common project management software
Example:
“In my previous roles, I have used Asana, FunctionFox, and ClickUp. These programs have helped me stay organized and collaborate more efficiently with my team members. I would be happy to learn how to use any other software you prefer as well.”
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What Was The Most Difficult Ethical Decision Youve Had To Make On A Project
Good because: It can demonstrate their awareness of PMI Code of Ethics and even if they arent aware of that, their general approach to work. You can also use it to open up an interesting discussion and allow you to judge how they will fit into your business culture.
Bad response: I awarded a contract to my cousin once, even though he was the most expensive. I did get a good holiday out of the kickback though.
How Would You Approach Building A High
If part of the project managers role will be building a project team, an understanding of how to best combine various skills and personalities to achieve the goals of the project becomes important. Good answers will show that the candidate understands the complexities involved in building a high-performing team and how to handle them.
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Describe All The Steps Involved From The Time Of Project Initiation To Project Completion
The best answer to this question would be scenario-based. Sometimes, the interviewers themselves give a hypothetical project and ask you how you would handle it. For each stage phase the project follows, briefly mention the following:The main objective of that phaseThe key people involvedYour role in each of those phases
Pm Interview Question #1: How Do You Resolve Conflicts In Your Projects
Conflicts are inevitable in a project. A good project manager must be able to resolve conflicts without hampering the motivation and relationship in the project team. By its nature, conflicts seem to be resolved in favor of one side over another. However, with good communication and conflict resolution skills, you can resolve the conflicts in a win-win situation.
This project manager interview question assesses your conflict resolution and communication management skills.
The following can be a good sample answer to this question.
Project manager candidate approaches to solve the conflict in a win-win situation. Then, he approaches to demonstrate different alternatives in a mathematical approach. This is great. Because, if you can describe a solution mathematically with statistics, numbers, figures, etc. you will eliminate most of the arguments about the topic. Then, he opens the conflict to voting. In this way, he ensures that the majority will decide what will be the solution. He is not forcing or directing on what needs to be done in the project.
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What Does A Typical Relationship With Your Project Sponsor Look Like
Project sponsors are individuals who are directly responsible for the success of the project. As a project manager, you should keep your sponsor informed of any issues that will slow or stop the project’s success. Your answer should describe how often you contact your sponsor and why. To answer this question, try to think about your interactions with project sponsors and when you talk to them.
Example:Since I believe communication is the most important part of my job, I try to keep my sponsor updated as much as possible. I try to have a weekly meeting with a project sponsor to deliver updates. Should there be an occurrence outside of this meeting that requires their input, I will contact them. The relationship depends on the sponsor, too. Sometimes I work with sponsors that are busy and less involved. Others enjoy adding input and directly helping the project.
Of course, it also depends on the project. Sponsors for large, extended projects are very invested in the process. If I have a smaller project, I may only want to have the sponsor present for client meetings or if I encounter any major issues.
How To Answer It
The easiest way to answer here is to approach it as a behavioral question and give a specific example of a time when you planned and implemented a new process .
You might say:
Since my last two roles have been at startups transitioning from their early stages to more stable long-term growth, Ive often been tasked with creating streamlined, standardized processes where there previously had been scattered ad hoc approaches. For example, in my last role, we were getting a lot of questions from freelancers and contractors about their payments. Plus there was some feedback that they were never sure who to send what info to and when. Theyd get frustrated when they received random follow-up requests for more info weeks later that delayed them getting paid. I was involved with the projects these freelancers were working on and was getting wind of their irritation. A couple even stopped taking new projects from us.
The accounts payable team ended up being able to cut down the amount of time they spent dealing with freelancer payments almost by half, freelancers were getting paid faster in most cases and always knew what was going on, and we were able to increase our retention and focus on our other goals. In short, it made everyones lives easier.
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What Are The Details That A Project Plan Should Include
A project plan is a blueprint that includes detailed information about how the project will be executed, monitored, and closed. It comprises the project scope, schedule, cost estimates, and budget constraints known as project baselines. A project plan is prepared by the PM with the help of inputs given by the core team members involved in designing various components of the plan.
It Project Manager Qualifications
IT Project Managers usually need at least Bachelor’s Degree in disciplines including computer science, mathematics, project leadership, information technology or computer information systems. It is recommended that IT Project Managers also complete internships to get practical training while still in school. IT PMs who aspire to management roles are advised to obtain a Master’s in Business Administration or a technology-related discipline. It is very helpful to obtain a Project Manager Professional Certification from the Project Management Institute. Other Qualifications for an IT Project Manager’s role include:
Soft SkillsIn addition to the hard skills directly related to the work a Database Administrator performs, you will likely be asked about several soft skills during an interview. Examples of these are:
- Strong analytical and reasoning skills and the ability to picture processes and their outcomes
- A knack for solving problems and developing solutions to complex issues
- The ability to work collaboratively across the organization
- Strong oral and written communication skills
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Describe An Instance You Made A Mistake In Your Roles And How You Handled The Situation
The interviewer wants to assess whether you own your mistakes.
Tip #1: Describe the mistake that happened
Tip #2: Show that you own your errors
Sample Answer
During my last role, while supervising the cleaning of our production facility, I failed to ensure warnings of the wet and slippery floor were put up during the cleaning process. As a result, a visitor to the office slipped and fell. He later sued the company. Following this, I owned the mistake and apologised to the executives and promised that such mistakes will not occur in the future. Besides, I developed an SOP that provided instructions about the cleaning process.
What Is The Role Of A Critical Path In Project Planning
The critical path is crucial for effective project planning as it helps in determining the best possible timeline for completing the project by outlining the sequence of dependent tasks that forms the longest duration. Identifying, managing, and monitoring the critical path and ensuring all its activities arent delayed is vital for completing the project within the deadline.
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Whats Your Ideal Project
The ideal project is the one that youre hiring for of course! But seriously, try to get them to answer honestly. It will let you know what sort of projects they prefer to work on. In doing so youll get a better feel for what kind of project management methodology excites them and maybe even what they excel at. This can help you place the project manager with the right project, or help them adapt to the project team youre hiring them to manage.
Q33 How Do You Handle An Unhappy Client
Ans. As a project manager, it is your job to keep the clients satisfied. However, there are incidents when the clients are not happy with the project deliverables. In such cases the following practices help:
- Communicate with clients at regular intervals
- Listen to his/her problems before reacting
- Look for a median point between the needs
- Rightly evaluate and discuss their expectations
- Ask questions and give the desired solutions
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How Do You Begin A Newly Assigned Project
Through this question, the interviewer is essentially trying to check your clarity of thought. He/she wants you to describe the important first steps you need to take to ensure the success of a project. A good manager would try to understand what of the project before how. What it means is your first try to understand what is the objective or purpose of the project before diving into how to achieve the goals of the project. Hence, anything on the above lines would get you some brownie points.
What Are The Major Industries In Rochester
Rochester’s high-tech output stands at 20th out of 319 metropolitan areas in the United States. Computer & electronic products, machinery, fabricated metal products, plastic and rubber products, chemical and printing equipment, are some of the significant industries in Rochester. Hence PMP certification training in Rochester will help you get employed over here.
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Describe How You Deliver And Present Results
Different project managers have different styles.
Do they like to present everything personally? Do they involve the project team? How is credit for a job well done shared and how is blame for a mishandled project assigned? Does their management approach match your workplace? Do they use the presentation of results as a way to motivate or punish project team members? How they handle project delivery can be a window into a lot of candidate attributes.
What Communication Style Do You Adopt
Project managers need to be able to communicate effectively with team members, upper management, stakeholders, clients, vendors, and so forth.
Effective communication keeps everyone on the same page and allows the project to stay on track. Progress in a project can be greatly affected by a lack of communication or poor communication.
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What Communication Style Do You Use With A Team That Youre Managing
What theyre asking: Being a strong communicator is one of the most important skills a project manager can possess, and thats exactly what this question is getting at. At the center of everything a project manager does, theres communication. From formal presentations and casual brainstorming sessions to in-person discussions and online collaboration, successful project managers need to know how to tailor their communication to effectively get a point across.
How to answer: This can be a tricky question to answer, especially when different circumstances require different communication styles. Start by recognizing that you understand the importance of successful communication, as well as how different styles are beneficial in different situations. For example:
“I think strong communication skills is one of the most critical qualities of a project manager. My communication style can vary greatly depending on the situation. During a conflict, for example, I tend to be more direct and assertive. But, during a team meeting, I prefer to sit back and be more of a facilitator of collaboration. I believe a strong project manager is able to adjust his or her communication style when necessary, and thats something I excel at.”
Which Project Management Methodologies Do You Employ
Interviewers ask this question to gauge your expertise with different project management methodologies.
The company youre interviewing to work for may use a specific project management methodology, such as the Agile or Waterfall methodologies. Or they may give you the freedom to use whichever project management methodology you are comfortable with.
Either way, they may want to know which methodologies you use.
View our guide to 20 of the most popular project management methodologies.
Here is an example answer to this question:
‘When I have a clear understanding of a projects requirements, I use the Waterfall methodology. I find this methodology the most efficient in leading a project to completion.
However, when operating in unpredictable environments, or I am unsure about the direction a project will go, I use the Agile methodology. With Agile, I find that the flexibility of the methodology gives me the freedom to react to change as necessary.
I have also used the eXtreme Programming methodology when managing software projects, which has been beneficial in lowering costs and improving customer satisfaction.’
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What Project Management Tools Would You Utilize As A Construction Project Manager
The candidate should mention whether he/she can use project management tools for construction such as Procore, Buildertrend, WorkFlowMax, BuiltTools among others. The candidate should have researched and known some of the project management tools and software used by the specific company he/she is interviewing in. He/she should explain how the knowledge they have can help to enhance the general performance of the company in project execution.
What Things Have You Done Differently To Succeed And Lead In Your Current Or Last Pm Role
Hiring managers want to know what you can bring to the table. You should be able to highlight what youve done with past projects that show you can think outside of the box and provide value to the company. Did you introduce a new project management software? Have you started daily review meetings? This is an opportunity to showcase your skills by focusing on what youve done differently to solve problems, how youve taken the lead and shown initiative.Heres an example response regarding lack of quality control which is a must have for all projects.
In my last project manager role, the company didnt have a proofing system set in place for quality control. Not having this quality control in place led to many poor outputs and delays. As a result of this, I created a proofing system that would ensure quality control at each of the project phases. This new system greatly increased our productivity.
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