Are there any projects that you do not want to work on?
If you say you are fine with any project, it might imply that you do not know yourself enough to answer this question. Instead, it is better to be honest and communicate your preferences. But, if you are applying for a software project manager position and say you hate software development, slight chance you will get the job. So, be a little smart.
What do you understand by the Pareto (also known as 80/20 rule) principle/analysis?
It is a decision-making technique through which by doing 20% of the work you produce 80% of the desired result.
What does A processes ensure?
According to a dictionary, “A is a way of systematic monitoring and evaluation of aspects of a project, service or facility to ensure that standards of quality are met”. Thus, whatever ensures products meet customer expectations are part of A efforts. Ensuring quality of everything that goes into making a product and that no mistakes are made while making it ensures quality.
Define Planned Value, Actual Cost and Earned Value?
Planned Value is the value of the project that has been estimated and approved before the project starts. Actual Cost is the total cost or the amount of money spent during the project. Earned Value is the value earned in the completion of the project. These three elements together form Earned Value Management (EVM).
What is your communication style with your team?
If your interviewer asks this, you’ll want to assure him or her that you are an effective communicator who motivates others on your team. Not only should good project managers be encouraging when delegating to their team, but they should also be clear in their expectations. Make sure you point out that you understand the significance of being an effective communicator as a project manager.
While the first question helps the interviewer assess how effectively you can handle communication in challenging situations, the second question helps understand how you engage with others, whether you demonstrate good sense and judgment, and are able to use language effectively.
Consistency and Integrity
Honesty and trustworthiness are of utmost importance in the world of business. Project managers manage critical responsibilities and resources such as material, money, and human resources. They also represent the organization to employees, customers, and vendors. They are role models for their team members. Any lack of consistency and integrity can cost the organization a lot more than money. Therefore, the key questions asked to the candidate will be:
Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
This is a top project manager interview question. The answer shows whether you have realistic expectations from the job you are applying for. It helps the interviewer check if your personal goals align with that of the company.
If you are applying for an entry-level position, it might be too ambitious to say ‘I want to be the CEO of this company’. It helps to research on the employee growth in the company and estimate where you could reach with your best performance in the next 5 years. On the other hand, if you are applying for a senior position, you can talk about how you wish to take the company forward and what your contribution towards that would be.
What is CMM?
It stands for Capability Maturity Model and has five levels, including –
Initial – Start point of a new process.
Repeatable– It suggests the repeated use of any process.
Defined – It includes documentation of the standard guidelines and procedures.
Managed – It involves measurement and management of a process.
Optimizing – It is the highest level of process maturity in CMM and includes optimization and improvement of a process.
What is the most desired skill that is required to become a successful project manager, according to your experience? Please give us a couple of examples regarding your past projects.
If you are experienced in project management, you might probably know that there is no single skill that is enough for a successful career in the field. To be a successful project manager, you should possess multiple skillsets like leadership skills, communication skills, negotiation skills, and time management skills, to name a few. To answer this question promptly, you should be able to justify why you have chosen a particular skill. You can include a couple of examples to substantiate your answer.
Tell us about the most challenging projects you have managed so far? What were the steps you have taken to tackle the challenges?
Here, the interview panel wants to know how you respond to critical challenges and deal with conflicting situations in a project. It would be best if you did not refer to examples where you had to manage tough team members or lack of support from management. As a project manager, you should be smart enough to handle such occurrences. Instead, focus on external factors like a situation where the project was unexpectedly called off, or funding was reduced in the middle of an extensive project. Also, you should explain how you tackled the challenges and managed the team during tough situations.
How do you work with customers, sponsors and stakeholders?
Even project managers have to answer to someone. Responding to executives and stakeholders requires a different approach than the one they would use with teams and vendors. Part of their duties includes managing stakeholders who hold a position of authority over the project manager. That takes a subtle touch.