Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers - Part 2 - Interview Tips from a Google Program Mgr

Interviewing for a project manager role, a project coordinator role, a project engineer role, or a project analyst role? Look no further!

Pocket Board mentor Erika G. is a seasoned project manager and program manager who has hired dozens of people into project management roles in her companies, including Google.

This video will teach you walk through common project management interview questions and answers so you can hear answers that use the teachings from part 1 of this video series, where I taught you the 5 core skills for project management interviews and how to demonstrate that you have those skills in your project management interviews

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### Skill 1: Leadership, Communication & Influence ###

What Interviewers are Assessing: Can you communicate in a structured way and use data to anchor your arguments whenever possible?

Key Points (to discuss): (1) you use data to anchor arguments, (2) you communicate different ways to different audiences, (3) you communicate at the right level + frequency to maintain alignment, (4) you proactively identify ways to improve communication and alignment

Intangibles (to demonstrate): (1) leadership skills, (2) influencing without authority

Common Question: Tell me about a time where you worked to gain buy in for an idea.

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### Skill 2: Execution ###

What Interviewers are Assessing: Can you systematically explain how you plan and manage projects, and how you measure success.

Key Points (to discuss): (1) you set project-level goals, (2) you ensure proper resourcing, (3) you regularly track & communicate progress toward major milestones & goals, (3) you identify when goals are at risk, (4) you mitigate or problem solve to create solutions, (5) you deliver projects on time, within budget, and meeting requirements

Intangibles (to demonstrate): (1) leadership, (2) data orientation, (3) proactivity, (4) resilience & ability to turn failure into a success

Common Question: Tell me about a time when a team you were leading failed to meet a key goal.

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### Skill 3: Risk Management ###

What Interviewers are Assessing: Can you systematically identify and mitigate risks, and if they turn into issues, are you able to broker timely, resource-efficient solutions that keep the project on track for its goals?

Key Points (to discuss): (1) you track risks proactively, (2) you create risk mitigation plans, 4) you mitigate risks when possible, (5) you effectively escalate when an issue occurs, (6) you mitigate or problem solve to resolve issues

Intangibles (to demonstrate): (1) good judgement, (2) domain expertise (certain risks happen more in certain fields), (3) leadership, (4) communication

Common Question: Tell me about the most difficult unforeseen issue that popped up on a complex project you were managing.

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### Skill 4: Stakeholder Management ###

What Interviewers are Assessing: Are you proactive about managing stakeholders by constantly making sure everyone is aligned and aware of the current state of the project?

Key Points (to discuss): (1) you identify all stakeholders and know what they want/need from the project, (2) you communicate effectively (forums, frequency, content) with each stakeholder, (3) you understand key stakeholders and always ensure their needs are met (this is often the client, customer, or user).

Intangibles (to demonstrate): (1) influencing without authority, (2) ability to manage up, (3) leadership & communication skills, (4) work values & professionalism

Common Question: Tell me about a time when there was misalignment at the leadership level that negatively impacted your project.

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### Skill 5: Passion ###

What Interviewers are Assessing: Are you passionable about aligning and leading teams toward a common goal, and driving projects forward to fulfill those goals?

Key Points (to discuss): What drives you to be a project manager (this can be many things)/

Common Question: What do you love most about project management?

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Link to Part 1 of the Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers video series: https://youtu.be/fktkrq2JxKk
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