12 Interview Questions for Project Managers

Project management is an exciting field with lots of career opportunities. But landing that dream project manager job can be quite challenging, especially in today’s highly competitive labour markets. This means that you have to stand out from the crowd at all stages of a job interview process.

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Impressing a potential employer with intelligent answers to their interview questions strengthens your case for getting the job. If you’ve been pondering about the make-up of interview questions for project managers, then be sure to digest the 12 interview questions for project managers in this post. While 12 questions may seem not exhaustive enough, they’ll provide you with valuable insight.

What are the Responsibilities of a Project Manager?

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), the responsibilities of project managers are to:

• Identify the goals and scope of a project
• Plan and document project tasks
• Ensure the timely delivery of deliverables
• Manage all resources involved in a project
• Communicate effectively with stakeholders
• Eliminate blockers and likely risks
• Document project process with a variety of project management tools
• Ensure excellent results and project success

Preparing for Project Management Interviews

Getting a good job is a big deal, especially if are an entry-level applicant or have been out of work for a while. Hence, you must take your project management interview very seriously by making the best possible preparation for it. The following tips should help.

Take a Careful Look at the Job Description

You must have carefully gone through the job description during the application stage. But that must have been days, weeks or even months ago. Another meticulous study and comprehension of all aspects of the advertised job description should be your first interview preparatory step. This will enable you to once again compare and contrast your present knowledge and skillset with those mentioned in the description. By comparing and contrasting, you’ll gain some insight into the extent to which you are qualified for the job as well as how to prepare for questions that may arise during the interview, including questions from any necessary skill that you lack or do not have in abundance. In summary, studying the job description will help you to properly define your suitability for the job and give you some clues about what you will likely expect in the interview.

Research the Company

Interview sessions have some degree of unpredictability. So the more you equip yourself with relevant knowledge or information, the brighter your chances of clinching the job. It is extremely important that you do thorough research and some due diligence about the company you want to commit yourself to for many years or even for the rest of your life. What likely interview questions will be asked? What are the company’s goals, vision and mission statement? How does its employee remuneration and welfare policies compare with those of rivals? Do they support training and other career advancement programmes for employees? Do they have a high employee turnover rate? Do they embrace remote and hybrid work? These are some crucial questions that research and due diligence will help to answer.

Part of your research should include interactions with the company’s previous interviewees as well as the collection of project management interview questions from past interviewees, the Internet and other sources. You should also interface with some former staff of the company if possible. Having a friend or relation working in the company can be an advantage in terms of interview preparation tips or even favour. 

If they have an online presence, study the company’s websites, especially its leaders and top management team. Look up their LinkedIn and other social media profiles to know more about them. Read any articles, interviews, and research papers they are involved in. Read the company’s reviews and feedback from clients, ex-workers and other sources. Another good reason to research is that interviewers often solicit questions from the applicant (usually towards the end of the session). Good research will not only enable you to provide quality answers to interview questions, it will also help you ask intelligent questions. 

Articulate a Strong Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is usually meant for the initial or introductory interview question. Your first interview question usually revolves around areas like knowing who you are and why you think you are the best candidate for the job. This is where a superb, well-articulated elevator pitch can help. If rightly done, it can create a good first impression, and give you a head start over other candidates. A strong elevator pitch should:

• Highlight your mastery of English language
• Be idealistic and focus on your strengths
• Be lively
• Delivered authoritatively but with an air of humility (sounding overconfident or even arrogant can be a disadvantage)

Practice Repeatedly

Whether you are expecting a virtual or real-life interview, the need to practice for the interview day cannot be overemphasised. Consider the interviews as a kind of exam and, like a good student, excellent study and practice are key. Conduct a series of mock interview question-and-answer sessions (either alone or with loved ones) with the questions you gathered while researching. Answer the questions as naturally as you would during the actual interview with a view to coming up with possible interview-day answers as well as noting what you need to improve upon. 

Study your CV, resume, cover letter and other tendered documents constantly to ensure you achieve consistency between their content and the answers you provide to the interview questions. If you are uncomfortable with video interviews, this is a good time to overcome your discomfort.

Pray to Succeed

If you are an atheist, then kindly overlook this tip. For Christians, Muslims and adherents of other religions, be sure to commit your interview and its outcome to God through constant prayers, songs and even fasting (if fasting is part of your religious practices). If God answers your prayers and improves your finances, do not forget to appreciate him with your resources.

Plan to Look Good on Interview Day

Looking good is good business. The way you dress is the way you are addressed. Again, whether it is a virtual or real-life interview, it is important that you dress smartly and neatly. Take a critical look at your wardrobe and identify the best possible outfit for the interview. Take them to your laundryman to optimise for D-day. Alternatively, you may want to invest in brand-new interview wear if you can afford them. It may turn out to be a wise investment in the long run.

12 Interview Questions for Project Managers

Every industry undertakes projects, meaning that a project manager can work anywhere. However, because of operational and other differences in each industry, project management interview questions may differ according to context. This notwithstanding, project management’s core competencies are largely the same, regardless of industry. The 12 interview questions for project managers below capture these core competencies and more.

• Tell me about yourself, your knowledge of the industry and why you’re interested in this role

Sample answer: I have 6 years of project management experience. Over that period, I have successfully completed over 90 projects across several industries. My industry knowledge is vast. It includes a project management master’s degree, certifications from the Project Management Institute and Scrum Alliance as well as practical experience working in diverse industries - from manufacturing to movies. This role interests me because of my passion for project management and my quest for continuous career development. 

• What leadership and communication styles do you favour? 

Sample answer: I do not tend to restrict myself to particular styles but rather exhibit dynamism as each situation demands. For example, there may be a need for democratic leadership at times and some other times may demand some level of autocracy to make things work well.

• What project management methods and tools you are conversant with?

Sample answer: I have applied the Scrum and Kanban Agile methods and the Waterfall method with various degrees of success. I have also tried a hybrid Agile-waterfall method which was also successful. In terms of tools, I’m practically conversant with project dashboards, Kanban boards, Timesheets, Gantt charts, CPM, PERT, work breakdown structure (WBS), priority matrix and risk matrix, among others. In terms of collaboration tools, I’ve used GitHub, Airtable, Microsoft Teams, Canva, Google Docs and many others.

•  How do you plan a project and delegate tasks to your subordinates?

Sample answer: I usually adopt a broad-based planning approach that entails consultations with all stakeholders before narrowing things down to my project team. I delegate tasks based on the competencies and track record of team members.

• What are your criteria for prioritising two or more urgent or competing tasks? 

Sample answer: I carefully schedule tasks to avoid such conflicts. However, where there are critical mission tasks, they always take priority. Additionally, a priority matrix and other project management tools, including many of those I mentioned earlier, are good for prioritising tasks.  

• How do you cope with a talented but underperforming team member?

Sample answer: Motivational dialogue can be an effective solution here. Engaging such a team member can help you unravel the cause of their underperformance. Once the causal problem is identified by the manager, the solution is usually not far away.

• What is the most challenging project you’ve successfully managed and what solution did you adopt to complete it?

Sample answer: The challenge was resistance to change with respect to effectively transforming from Waterfall to Agile on an organisation-wide scale. The key solution was bringing in a Scrum master to help engage with some Agile sceptics in the top organisational hierarchy and many other stakeholders resisting the change.

• Have you managed remote workers before? If yes, what strategies do you use to monitor both your remote and your on-site staff?

Sample answer: Yes, I have remote work management experience. Monitoring both remote and on-site workers is a lot easier these days, thanks to mobile phones, work collaboration software and other digital technologies.

• How do you manage budgets for specific projects?

Sample answer: Project finances in my projects are usually managed in conjunction with other sections of the organisation, particularly the finance department. However, I constantly evaluate project expenses to ensure they align with the original estimates. Price inflation is often a big challenge, so I always plan for it and all other uncertainties with company executives, mostly through a change management plan.

•  How do you manage scope creep?

Sample answer: Tools such as WBS and Gantt charts can help specify project requirements which can then be rigidly followed. A change management plan can also help address scope creep.

•  How will you tackle a project that is not proceeding as expected, despite the best efforts of your team? 

Sample answer: More time can be dedicated to it. Holding meetings such as sprint sessions can throw up new ideas, suggestions and techniques that can turn things around. Consulting other project managers and experienced professionals can also help.

• How will you cope with a difficult or even disrespectful client or other stakeholder?

Sample answer: By soliciting a change of attitude from the concerned party and leveraging any available complaints or dispute resolution mechanisms in the organisation. 

Conclusion

When you impress a potential employer during a project manager interview, you improve your chances of being hired. However, answering interview questions intelligently is a function of adequate preparation. Abiding by the preparation tips above will help you cope well with any interview. Note that the answers to these 12 interview questions for project managers are just a guide meant to provide insight.