Prepare for Project Manager Interview | Top Questions with Answers 2022

A project manager interview can be strenuous, especially when the participants aren't familiar with or unsure what to expect. There are many unknowns; however, focusing on critical areas and providing accurate solutions to the questions based on them during the procedure helps you get selected.

HR managers and senior heads acknowledge project management as crucial to business success. They understand that potential and approved project managers are among their most essential assets.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) reports that in the US, around $122Mn gets wasted for every $1Bn invested because of poor project management. However, when recruiting certified project managers, things get a bit challenging, and participants are reviewed in various methods.

Here are the top project manager interview questions that recruitments are sure to ask, followed by how to answer - helping you be the right fit for the role.

Project Manager Interview Questions 2022

Q1. How will you define an ideal project?

One of the most significant project management questions often asked during the interviews is to get an idea of the projects you wish to take up.

By answering the question, you will create a new door of opportunities to manage projects that fascinate you or those you are proficient in.

While answering, ensure you add multiple relevant points such as whether you're interested in working as a team or alone, the type of timelines you prefer, whether you like creative projects, and more.

Q2. How do you prioritize project tasks?

Irrespective of a project's scope and size, prioritization is crucial in determining a project's success and timely completion. Therefore, this type of question tests your adaptability and flexibility in managing a project.

When the interviewer asks you to define task prioritizing, your answer must include how you differentiate significance and short turnaround time. You can elaborate on what is essential and what not to consider.

Q3. Describe a scenario where the project you were managing underwent a downfall.

Downfalls are common when managing a project. Therefore, recruiting managers will want to know how you overcome such a scenario.

Since dealing with unpredictable situations is a central part of project management, you can highlight a few instances and mention how you include change methods in the project.

First of all, start with the facts of the scenario and why it happened. Secondly, explain what tasks you were expected to do to solve the situation. Next, describe what your role was and how you solved the issue. Last but not least, share the result, and explain what you learned from the experience.

Q4. According to you, what is the most desired skill a successful project manager must have?

If you're expertise in the project management field, you may know that no single skill is enough to become successful in the industry.

To become a successful project manager, one must possess several skills like communication, negotiation, time management, and leadership.

To give an accurate answer, you must justify why you choose a specific skill - including a few examples to state your answer.

Q5. How will you resolve internal team member conflicts?

By asking this question, the interviewer is trying to understand your mediation skills and how unbiased you're while making decisions to deal with internal conflicts.

You can describe why listening to both parties and understanding their vision is necessary. Your answer must include how you will convince either to reach the best conclusion for the project at hand.

Q6. Can you distinguish risk from issues? What are the different kinds of risks we come across in a project?

Risk is an uncertain future event that will either positively or negatively affect the project objectives. Issues indicate any scenario that currently involves the project goals. In a more straightforward form, risks target future events, while the issue is all about present occurrences that are often negative.

The major types of risks are:

• Cost
• Strategic
• Technology
• Market
• External
• Operational
• Resource

Q7. What are the approaches you may use to define a project scope?

Here, the interviewer tries to understand your insight on the concerned area. You can highlight various approaches involved in defining project scope, such as:

• Requirement analysis
• Alternatives analysis
• System analysis
• Product breakdown
• Value analysis
• Systems engineering
• Value engineering

Q8. When would you escalate an issue?

An escalation of an issue take place, if:

• The issue creates a project delay or budget overrun.
• Attempting to reach a deal and develop a common ground with concerned authority.
• Previous leveraging of trial and fail approach to solve the issue with several approaches.
• Due to issue, you or other team members are forces to accept massive work.

Q9. Describe your experience in budget management.

Recruiting managers may ask questions on various skills such as budget management. In most cases, it's not a deal-breaker if you've no prior experience; they're just trying to understand where you stand.

Budget management includes estimating the cost, allocating funds, maintaining expense records, and planning unexpected expenses.

If you have experience in budget management, it's great to pitch in a few scenarios. If you don't have much experience, you can share what you know of budget planning or speak about an experience you had in your personal life of managing expenses, if relevant. It's also good to highlight that you're good to go with new skills.

Q10. How will you describe a project plan?

For this type of question, start with explaining crucial factors for a project plan, such as team members, targets, and tasks. You can go further in-depth by stating a few examples of how you implemented the elements in the past.

Q11. State some communication challenges you faced on the last project?

For a successful project completion, project managers must communicate with team members. Unfortunately, during this process, the chances of misinformation or other communication-related issues are enormous.

The hiring manager wants to see how you tackled these challenges seamlessly and effectively as a project manager. It needs to be clear that you were able to work with your team efficiently with these obstacles, and the project outcome came out pretty good.

Q12. What are your project and career objectives for the next 6 months?

If you've any short-term project objectives, speak about them, as it shows the hiring manager that you're a dedicated and goal-oriented professional. When it comes to career objectives, ensure that you include the organization you're interviewing with as part of your targets.

If the interview is with a job placement recruiter, you might not have a particular firm in mind, and that's fine. You need to be honest and transparent about what type of role you will like to see yourself in the next six months or more.

Q13. How will ensure that the project is on track?

The recruiters might want to know how you track the project progress and whether you’re detailed-oriented.

Therefore, you will have to describe how you monitor a project from beginning to end. For instance, you will have to highlight that effective communication is a key to ensuring projects are on track.

Q14. How do you monitor and control changes to your project?

Some levels of change are inexorable. However, as a project manager, it's crucial to acclimatize those alterations rapidly. Explain to the hiring managers how you continue to maintain your team on track whenever a change occurs.

Q15. Mention some best practices you have leveraged to build top-notch customer relations?

Current clients make the best loyal customers, and it's vital to keep superior relationships beyond just offering them what they paid for. The interviewer wants to know you feel the same, so as you describe the methods you have maintained superior customer relations, ensure to weigh the significance of having delightful customers.

Conclusion

Project management sometimes needs a good judgment call in a limited period. Therefore, though the questions mentioned above are short-numbered; however, we have selected the top and often asked interview questions for the project manager post.

Nonetheless, the interview questions cover the most effective project management skills and competencies that the participant will be tested on during a hiring procedure and will need to succeed as a project manager.