Project management behavioural interview questions and answers

Updated February 28, Project managers are sought after by employers of all shapes and sizes across a wide range of sectors, from professional services like finance , engineering and architecture , to charity and non-profit organizations. The role they fulfill involves the day-to-day management of any given project, through planning execution and delivery. Since the responsibilities of a project manager are so diverse, employers look for candidates with a broad range of capabilities. This will be a combination of hard skills learned through education and experience, and key traits inherent in your personality, known as soft skills.

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WATCH RELATED VIDEO: Top 50 Agile Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers - Invensis Learning

21+ Behavioral Interview Questions (+Sample Answers)

Landing a project management interview is a big accomplishment. In this article, we cover some of the most commonly asked project management interview questions so you can ace this interview and get hired. Congratulations, you got the interview for a project manager position. But right after you put the date on your calendar, the interview jitters hit you. Your mind starts racing: What kinds of questions will they ask you?

How can you prepare and make sure you seem confident? Do you have the project management skills needed to succeed? If you have an interview for a project manager position coming up and hope to find smart answers to common questions, this post is for you. The title project manager has changed significantly over the years. Initially, project manager roles were highly specialized technical positions, and project managers themselves were certified in complicated, complex project management tools.

Luckily, modern project management tools have made project management accessible to a broader variety of roles—and now more often than not, a project manager is less focused on the technical element and more focused on aligning stakeholders, driving clarity, and hitting project goals. The definition of project management varies between companies, departments, and positions.

To get a sense of what your interviewer expects from you as a project manager, study the job description closely to understand the main responsibility of the position you applied for. Is it people management, cost management, risk management, program management , or something entirely different? If you know what exactly your position will entail, you can use this information to better prepare for the interview.

This will also help you figure out which of the questions and answers below are going to be the most helpful for your interview prep. How to answer: Briefly explain what your last or current position is.

Stay positive, be truthful, and let your passion shine through. The interviewer has that right in front of them. Also, keep it professional and read the room—not every interviewer cares about your new puppy unfortunately.

Project manager positions are often team leads or project leads, so your interviewer may want to learn more about your experience in this area. What the question means: Virtual managers face more challenges than managers who share the same office space as their teammates.

The interviewer wants to find out if you have previous experience managing virtual teams. Your interviewer needs to know that you take team morale seriously and understand what it takes to connect with your team in a remote world.

This can cause project delays and lack of quality in your deliverables. As a project manager, one of your responsibilities is knowing how to keep your team motivated and moving towards the project objective. What the question means: The interviewer wants to find out what your tactics are for keeping a team engaged and motivated. How to answer: You can start by describing the work environment you hope to build for your team.

There are several different leadership styles out there and while some may be more popular than others, there is no right or wrong leadership style. What the question means: While the terms leadership and management are often used interchangeably, not every manager is a leader and not every leader is a manager.

How to answer: Be sure that you know what different leadership styles entail. Know the risks and benefits of your leadership style so you can confidently answer follow-up questions about your specific leadership skills like:. As a democratic leader , how do you ensure that your team still trusts you when you make a decision without their input? How do you approach conflict resolution as an affiliative leader? As a transformational leader, how do you combat pressure your team may feel because of your constant involvement?

What is your communication style as a transactional leader? Part of your job description as a project manager will be to deliver news to your team—good and bad. What the question means: The interviewer likely wants to find out if you have both the integrity and communication skills to deliver bad news to your team without causing misunderstandings or issues. How to answer: Acknowledge that the challenge of communicating bad news is that you have to balance representing and understanding both the emotional response of your team and the decision of higher level executives.

Explain that the best way to effectively communicate bad news is to prepare yourself. Instead, be realistic and ensure that you show the interviewer that you understand the potential risks and severity of a scenario like this.

As a project manager your workday can change in an instant. New tasks, change requests, or a confused stakeholder who needs clarification right away can throw off your entire schedule.

What the question means: The interviewer is looking for a very direct and detailed answer on how you prioritize tasks. How to answer: Explain your go-to time management method.

Perhaps you use the Eisenhower Matrix to find out which tasks need to be done right away or can be scheduled for later, delegated to someone else, or deleted altogether. Maybe you prefer to eat the frog and get your biggest and most complex task done first thing in the morning.

A skilled manager will use tools and techniques to prioritize tasks by importance and urgency—so make sure to share your go-to approach with your interviewer. What the question means: The interviewer wants to know what type of projects you feel most comfortable and confident working on. How to answer: The best way to answer this question is to be honest. Tell the interviewer what kinds of projects excite you the most.

Perhaps you prefer projects that are super collaborative and innovative. Or you may do really well managing multiple small projects that run simultaneously.

Whatever it is that you feel the most passionate about—tell the interviewer. Projects rarely go according to plan which is why your position is so important. Depending on the level of your position, they may also want to know how familiar you are with change management processes. How to answer: Showcase your ability to adapt to unexpected or uncomfortable situations when answering this question.

What the question means: The interviewer wants to find out whether the project management methods you use fit the organization's style. For example, you could talk about your experience with Scrum teams or talk about projects that you managed using Kanban boards.

Explain why you used the given methodology and how it worked for your team and project. There really is no right or wrong answer to this question but you can get a few extra points if you personalize your answer. You may find information on their website, a review site, or get this kind of insight from an employee via LinkedIn. You may have a favorite Asana, right?

Simply list the tools you have experience with and explain your skill level if applicable. Being fiscally responsible is not the same as knowing how to manage a project budget.

So be honest about your experience and skill level. This is an excellent opportunity to talk about a project that went really well and explain why it was one of your best projects to date. Chances are, you were passionate, inspired your team, and led the project to success because you felt so motivated. What the question means: Motivation looks different to everyone. The interviewer wants to find out what keeps you motivated to get a better understanding of your personality.

Is it a great team that loves to collaborate? Do you love showing up for work to solve problems? Do you get excited about learning new things and widening your skillset? Whatever satisfies and excites you to do your best in a project, share it with your interviewer and give an example if you can. Share a challenge that turned into a successful project or a great learning experience with your interviewer to prove that you can handle roadblocks or setbacks.

What the question means: The interviewer wants to learn more about your problem-solving skills and how you approach challenges. This method allows you to break down a situation into four categories:.

Situation : Start with the situation you were in. For example, explain that your project team suddenly got smaller because two people were out sick for an extended period of time. Task : Explain how you wanted to resolve the situation.

For example, your goal was to ensure that you could still deliver the project on time. Action : Describe the actions you took to reach your goal. For example, you first tried to get help from another team.

Result : Finish with the outcome of the situation. For example, hiring a freelancer allowed your team to focus on the important tasks and complete the project without delays. Plus, you ended up hiring that freelancer for your next project because they did such an amazing job supporting your team. The interviewer wants to know how you handle challenges like lack of resources, negative feedback, or project delays. How to answer: Instead of looking back at your old or current employer, talk about what excites you most about this new opportunity.

Are you excited about the possibility of relocating? Are you looking forward to gaining new skills or taking on more responsibilities? Let your excitement for the new role shine through—that will set you apart from other candidates.

Depending on your field, you may have to deal with customers or clients on a regular basis. What the question means: Happy clients or customers are important—the interviewer wants to know if you have more than one card up your sleeve when it comes to fostering meaningful professional relationships. How to answer: Think about your past customer relationships and what they valued. Did they appreciate your quick and positive communication? Did you make them feel like they were your only client or customer?

Did you consistently exceed their expectations? Were you able to understand their goals and speak their language? All of these are tactics proven to build and maintain strong business relationships.


Project Manager Interview Questions

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Interview Questions for Junior Project Managers: · 1. What was the most elaborate project that you oversaw? · 2. Can you describe your history of managing teams?

10 Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers

Mike Simpson 0 Comments. Are you ready to check out the world of behavioral-based interview questions? In the simplest sense, a behavioral interview question gauges how you think and act in various situations. Many questions of this kind focus on scenarios, requiring you to outline what you did or would do under specific circumstances. Unlike traditional interview questions — which mainly assess whether you have particular technical capabilities — these give the hiring managers overviews of capabilities that are harder to ask about directly. Usually, your answer helps the hiring manager assess your mindset and soft skills. In some cases, hiring managers ask behavioral interview questions because they think past performance is a predictor of future success. But a different study showed that behavioral interviewing was 55 percent predictive of future behavior at work, while traditional interviews were a mere 10 percent predictive. That way, you can excel when those questions become part of the equation. When it comes to how to answer behavioral interview questions, you need to present applicable examples.

Behavioral Interview Questions for Project Managers

project management behavioural interview questions and answers

How to crack the Behavioral Interview at Google. Have you ever wondered how difficult it is to land a job at Google? Well, as it turns out, it's more difficult than getting into the most exclusive university in the world—Stanford. While Stanford accepts around 3. Google is known for having extremely high standards when it comes to hiring, and their interview process reflects this.

Are you wondering what questions to ask for the profile of Senior Project Manager?

Junior Project Manager Interview Questions

We love our customers. Learn how some have used Breezy to grow their business. Integrate the tools and services you use most, to keep working in one place. Offer a delightfully easy-to-use, feature-rich hiring solutions to your clients. Dive into Hire Learning, the Breezy blog. Explore topics to help improve your recruiting process, sharpen your candidate experience, diversify your workplace, and more!

Common Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers for Management Positions

Project Manager interview questions These Project Manager questions have been designed for various interviews, competitive exams and entrance tests. We have covered questions on both basic and advanced concepts which will help you improve your skills to face interview questions on Project Manager. Who are these Project Manager interview questions designed for? Elaborate on the Project Management Life Cycle process. Project Management Life Cycle process includes five phases that covers all aspect of managing a project from beginning to end. The five phases are: i. Initiating - In the initiation phase of the project, you determine whether the project is feasible, figure out project scope, identify the major deliverables of the project and the project stakeholders. Planning - In planning phase, you break down the larger project into smaller tasks and work on to plan the time, cost and resources.

What communication style do you use with a team that you're managing?.

20 Job Interview Questions and Answers for Project Managers

And one of the best ways of doing this is to study the most common project management job interview questions. In this guide, we list the 20 most common project manager job interview questions and provide example answers. Use this guide and our job interview tips to give yourself a better chance of acing your project management interview.

Top 57 Project Management Interview Questions and Answers (Updated for 2021)

You memorized all of the most common job interview questions and came up with your answers. Behavioral interview questions are questions based on how you acted in a specific situation. After all, to answer such a behavioral interview question, you really need to have some serious work experience and achievements. Situation: Around the time I started working at Company X, the team I was working with was just finishing up on a very important project on a tight deadline. Action: My plan was simple. I wanted to talk to my manager and a few of my colleagues whenever they had time e.

A recent study shows that tech startups contributed to the creation of nearly 1.

Complete List of Change Management Interview Questions & Answers

Everything You Need. Throughout my tenure as a Change Management Lead Consultant , I often have to interview with clients for change management opportunities. I have also interviewed and hired lots of change practitioners to work on projects that I am supporting. The change manager interview questions, change management stakeholder interview questions, and general questions on change management that are outlined below are all designed to help you prepare for a change management interview. Ogbe Airiodion Sr. Change Management Lead.

Project managers are Superhuman. So then, how do you fish out pearls in open seashells? What is your background personal and professional? This may devolve into more specific questions, but I find that keeping it this kind of a catchall question actually allows you to discern more about the candidate and their self-confidence.

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