Job interviews can be nerve wracking experiences however preparation is the key and can help you towards landing that dream job in Project Management.
You will find that a number of employers are using teh following types of questions:
Competency Based Questions
- Typical questions include "Can you give me an example of your leadership skills?" or "Explain a way in which you have developed a creative solution to a problem." The purpose of competency based questions is to ananlyse your past behaviors with specific competencies which are required for the position.
Behavioral Questions
- Typical questions include “Can you give me an example of how you have managed to get stakeholder buy in for your recommendations?” and “What were the steps you followed to achieve that?” The purpose of behavioral questions is to predict your future behaviors based upon previous behaviors.
Apart from the Competency and Behavioral questions you can also expect to be questioned on your education, training and sector specific accreditation as well as more generalist questions that focus on your achievements and experiences in delivering successful [and sometimes difficult / and perhaps unsuccessful projects] and lessons learned. For roles associated with Project Management and Support Offices you may be questioned on your experiences in establishing and managing PMO / PSO's, abilities to deal with risks / issues logs and to manage the coordination of reports and change requests.
The two sections below outline general and specialist project management interview tips:
Specialist Project Management Interview Tips
Be prepared to discuss:
- Projects you've been involved in, what your involvement was and what the key facts of the projects were i.e. budget size, team size, time frames involved etc.
- How you would manage a project from full end-to-end lifecyle
- How you would monitor and control budgets
- How would you deal with a project where it is likely that tolerences will be breached? What would you do in this situation?
- What tools and techniques you would utilise to monitor project performance, i.e. Earned Value Analysis / Earned Value Management
- How you would approach Risk Management, monitor Risk Response, and what the differences are between a Risk and Issue
- What would you state are the benefits of a Project Management Office?
* This is not an exhaustive list.
** If you would like to contribute to this list please email us.
General Interview Tips
- Find out as much as you can about the job and the company. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will feel. Have a look at their website or have a look on the internet for any recent press releases and any obvious competitors they may have
- Make sure you know where you are going and if time permits then do a test run. Allow yourself extra time for traffic and public transport problems.
- First impressions are very important so dress in a conservative and smart manner.
- Always be pleasant to any staff that meet and greet you. It’s not unusual for interviewers to ask those staff for their opinion of candidates.
- Shake hands and make eye contact with the interviewer when you meet him or her.
- Take at least 2 copies of your CV with you in case they are required. Ensure that is required you are able to ask any questions based on any part of your CV.
- You may be asked your reasons for leaving previous roles so be prepared to explanations on that and why you are looking for a new one now.
- Keep your answers concise and ensure you are answering the questions asked, if you are unsure of this then it is generally good practice to ask the interviewer if your answer provided what they were looking for and whether or not they require any further clarification.
- Inevitably you will be asked if you have any questions at the end of the interview, go in to the interview with a list 3-5 questions prepared. This will prevent your mind going blank if other questions do not arise as a result of the interview.
- Prior to getting up to leave the interview, confirm your interest in the job [if you are] and state your confidence in your ability to do the role well [without being arrogant] and ask the interviewer if they have any concerns or issues with your abilities. This is a great opportunity for you to overcome any objections they may have in offering you a job and this may set you apart from other candidates.
In order to overcome any objections you need to have prepared answers to potential issues you may expect to encounter, i.e. [Issue/Concern] “you don’t have any experience in this sector” – [Answer] “That is true however I do possess considerable experience as a Project Manager and I have worked in x number of sectors and bring with me cross-transferable skills.
- As a general rule ask the interviewer if they have other candidates to interview and when you can expect to hear from them
- On your way out shake hands and thank the interviewer for seeing you.
- Do not criticise former employers or colleagues or hold them responsible for any difficulties you might have experienced.
- Do not ask about holidays, benefits or even salary at the first stage unless asked.
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