Project manager interview questions

Project manager interview questions

You never know what you will be asked on a job interview. The following project manager interview questions will help you prepare. You need to be able to answer all questions directly and professionally. Here are the tough interview questions and answers:

Q. Why are you considering leaving your present job?

A. Regardless of the reason, do not bad mouth your current employer. Negativism will always hurt you. Good answers include: “There is no room for growth at my current employer. I am looking for a company with long term growth opportunities”. “Due to a company restructuring, my entire department is relocating to Florida. I was give the option of moving, but do not wish to relocate”. “My current company is not doing well, and has been laying off employees. There is no job security there, and more layoffs are expected”.

Q. What are your goals for the future?

A. “My long term goals are to find a company where I can grow, continue to learn, take on increasing responsibilities, and be a positive contributor”.

Q. How do you handle stress and pressure?

A. “I find that I work better under pressure, and I enjoy working in an environment that is challenging.” “I am the type of person that diffuses stress. I am used to working in a demanding environment with deadlines, and enjoy the challenges.”

Q. What do you know about our company?

A. This question is used to see if you have prepared for the interview. Candidates that have researched the company are more appealing. Companies like prepared, organized candidates.

Q. We have met several candidates. Why are you the project manager we should hire?

A. Give definite examples of your skills and accomplishments. Be positive, and emphasize how your background matches the job description.

Q. What are your greatest strengths?

A. Be positive and honest. “My greatest strength is maximizing the efficiency of my staff. I have successfully managed numerous teams on difficult projects. I have an excellent ability to identify and maximize each of my staffs strengths.” Give examples.

Q. Tell me about your greatest weakness?

A. It is very important to give a strength that compensates for your weakness. Make your weakness into a positive. “I consider myself a 'big picture' person. I sometimes skip the small details. For this reason, I always have someone on my team that is very detail oriented.” Another good answer: “Sometimes, I get so excited and caught up in my work that I forget that my family life should be my number one priority.”

Hopefully these project manager interview questions will help you. It is important to tailor the answers for your specific background and experience.

Now that we have gone over the tough interview questions and answers, you need to be aware of important resources that can make your job search easier and more thorough.

Few Other questions
Questions That Examine Leadership Potential
1. How do you handle non-productive team members?
2. How do you motivate team members who are burned out, or bored?
3. How do you handle team members who come to you with their personal problems?
4. What are your career goals? How do you see this job affecting your goals?
5. Explain how you operate interdepartmentally.
6. Tell me how you would react to a situation where there was more than one way to accomplish the same task, and there were very strong feelings by others on each position.
7. Consider that you are in a diverse environment, out of your comfort zone. How would you rate your situational leadership style?
8. Give me an example of your leadership involvement where teamwork played an important role.

Questions That Examine Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

9. Why are you interested in this position?
10. Describe what you think it would be like to do this job every day.
11. What do you believe qualifies you for this position?
12. What have you learned from your failures?
13. Of your previous jobs, which one did you enjoy the most? What did you like the most/least? Why? What was your major accomplishment? What was your biggest frustration?
14. Tell me about special projects or training you have had that would be relevant to this job.
15. What are some things that you would not like your job to include?
16. What are your current work plans? Why are you thinking about leaving your present job?
17. Describe an ideal job for you.

Questions That Examine Judgment

18. What would you do if you found out that a contractor was in a conflict of interest situation?
19. If I were to contact your former employee, what would he say about your decision-making abilities?
20. Give me an example of a win-win situation you have negotiated.
21. Tell me about your verbal and written communication ability. How well do you represent yourself to others? What makes you think so?
22. Give me an example of a stressful situation you have been in. How well did you handle it? If you had to do it over again, would you do it differently? How do you deal with stress, pressure, and unreasonable demands?
23. Tell me about a tough decision you had to make?

Questions That Examine Experience

24. Describe what you did at your work place yesterday.
25. How would you solve the following technical problem? (Describe a typical scenario that could occur in the new position.)
26. What strengths did you bring to your last position?
27. Describe how those contributions impacted results?