A project manager is in charge of planning, organizing, and executing a company project. From start to finish, this person is involved in every detail of the project. Hiring managers need someone who is organized, patient, creative, and shows good time-management and problem-solving skills. A degree is recommended, although entry into this position can be achieved with either enough professional experience, through certificate programs or any upskilling platform. This article is designed to help you in your project manager interview, by providing the most common interview questions and a clear guide on what the interviewer might be looking for in a response. Below is a list of the top project manager interview questions you may see if you’re seeking out a position as a project manager.
How Do You Manage Challenging Projects?
Interviewers need to see how well you manage difficult projects. Was there poor communication? Was the customer not satisfied with anything? You need to be able to show how you pulled through it to achieve the project’s end goal. Use this opportunity to highlight soft skills such as patience, organization, problem-solving and communication, as well as project management best practices that you incorporate into your daily routine.
Example: “We didn’t have enough team members for this one project, so we had to add additional members mid-project. We then delegated some of the work to the new project team members. Delegating the work allowed us to complete top-priority goals in order to finish on time.”
Additionally, you may want to touch upon risk management by mentioning that you approach every project with risk in mind and anticipate for potential challenges to arise. You’ll also want to mention how you plan for risk.
What’s One Mistake You’ve Made on a Project?
This question isn’t as scary as it sounds. Project managers can easily make mistakes that will cause them to lose time and money. These mistakes are often difficult to detect early on and will lead to a project’s failure or cause a delay. There are many causes of project failures such as underestimating the scope of the project, not planning ahead, or not clearly defining target audience. Some common mistakes that project managers make include:
- Not having a clear goal for the project
- Underestimating scope and budget
- Lacking clarity on what needs to be done and who is responsible for it
- Not anticipating enough risk ahead of the project
Let’s say, for example, a mistake you made during a project was that you didn’t fully understand one of the elements and, as a result, money was wasted on the wrong equipment. An example response to this question can be something like this: “I didn’t ask enough questions to fully understand the scope of the project, so we ended up getting the wrong equipment. From then on, I made sure to make extra certain what we ordered was approved first.”
Everyone fails at something and admitting to mistakes humanizes you. It also helps the hiring managers see you’re humble enough to own up to any mistakes and be a true leader. This is a perfect opportunity to show what you’ve learned through your experience.
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 you’ve 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 you’ve done differently to solve problems, how you’ve taken the lead and shown initiative.
Here’s an example response regarding lack of quality control which is a must have for all projects.
“In my last project manager role, the company didn’t 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”.
Tell Me About a Conflict You Had On Your Team and How You Solved It?
Conflict resolution is an essential part of successful project management. It’s important to understand that conflict does not just happen; it must be actively managed to avoid issues that can arise due to disagreement.
Project managers should acknowledge the existence of conflict before it becomes a problem. They should be able to identify the root cause of the conflict and resolve it quickly before it escalates into problems for their team or project.
A common technique for resolving conflicts in projects is through discussion, negotiation, and mediation. These techniques allow team members to work collaboratively on solving conflicts and maximizing their success.
An example response to this question can be something like this: ” I had to act as a mediator between some coworkers for things to run smoothly. They had two opposing visions for what they were assigned and couldn’t stop arguing with each other about it.”
A project manager has to work with a range of different opinions and personalities. There’s bound to be a conflict somewhere within a group. It’s part of the project manager’s job to find out the conflict and create a solution for it. Hiring managers need to know how well you work with a different range of people. You should also be able to show how well you handle conflict that might arise within a team.
What Kinds of Project Management Software Tools Do You Use?
There are many different software tools that project managers use such as Excel or Word. This question is designed to help give the interviewer an idea of how well you know the software specific to project management. Check out the latest project management software to get an idea of what would help you answer this question.
If you already included this information on your resume (or even if you didn’t), the interviewer not only wants to know which PM tools you’re familiar with but what’s your level of expertise. They also want to know how you use them with your everyday project management tasks.
Conclusion
These project manager interview questions should give you an idea of what to expect for your next interview. They should also give you a head start and help you feel more prepared and comfortable. Whichever questions you face, don’t forget to highlight your best qualities and why you would be a great project manager for that company.
