When looking for a new and interesting career path, one interesting option would be to go into the world of consulting and project management. Those that are in this field will provide valuable business management consultations to organizations to help them grow and develop. Once a plan in place, the implementation manager will then work to make sure that the plan is effectuated and working correctly.
The first step of going into project management will be to pass the interview. There are several common questions types that will be asked during the interview process for project managers.
1. Knowledge and Skills
When you are interviewing to be a project manager, the first type of questions will be asked to determine your knowledge and job skills. This can include asking you questions to better determine your industry knowledge, skills to work in the specific job, and other questions to test whether you are knowledgeable and share a similar mindset as the organization.
2. Communications
One of the most important tasks that a project manager will have will be finding ways to better communicate with customers. An interviewer will likely ask a variety of different questions that will be used to show whether or not someone is a good communicator when challenged.
3. Ability to Give Bad News
While a lot of communications between a project manager and client will be positive, there are also a lot of situations in which frank and honest conversations are necessary. In these situations, you may need to deliver bad news.
In these situations, an interviewer will likely ask that you provide examples of when you have had to deliver bad news in the past and how the recipient responded.
4. Training and Leadership
The interviewer will also want to see how good of a manager and a leader that you are. When you are a project manager you will be tasked with making sure that a lot of people are doing their jobs.
The interviewer will end up spending a lot of time working with you to find examples of when you have had to train people in the past, what your techniques are for motivating and leading others, and what you have had to do with a difficult employee.
5. Identifying Risks
One of the most important parts of the project management process is finding ways to identify risks. Before you are hired, you will need to prove that you are able to properly identify risks in the area in which you work and find ways to manage those risks.
An interviewer will end up spending a lot of their time asking questions to gain clarity about when you have had to identify risks in the past and what you did to manage those risks.
6. Time Management
Being a good project manager will require you to know how to use your time. You will be asked questions about how you have handled time restraints in the past, what processes you use to be more efficient, and what you have done while under a lot of time pressure.