The right Project Manager interview prep can make all the difference when you want to make a positive first impression

For job seekers who are looking for their next role as a Project Manager, the competition is fiercer than it's ever been. In such a competitive environment, it can sometimes be difficult to ensure hiring managers see you as the best candidate for their open position. To overcome that challenge, it's important to familiarize yourself with the most common Project Manager interview questions and how to answer them.

In this post, we'll consider the Project Manager interview questions you're most likely to encounter and examine how you can answer these questions in a way that helps you stand out from the crowd and proves you have what it takes to bring value to the new company. 

A bit of foundation

A good Project Manager knows a bit about the need for good groundwork and establishing the basics. So, you won't begrudge us laying a bit of foundation to help you prepare for your Project Management interview. 

As you prepare to answer your Project Management interview questions, getting the foundational concepts – those key principles and practices – right is essential. After all, you'll need to be able to have the right hard and soft skills shine through in your interview. Most interviewers will want to see that you are good at these things:

  • Basic principles: These are things like defining project goals, creating project plans, managing resources, and monitoring performance.

  • Communication: Being able to communicate effectively is critically important for a Project Manager – this includes verbal, written, and non-verbal communication skills.

  • Collaboration: Being a Project Manager is rarely a one-person job; therefore, you have to know how to work with others toward a common goal. 

  • Risk management: How well do you anticipate when something bad is going to happen? If you can assess risks and come up with solutions to problems before they occur, you definitely want to make sure the interviewer knows it. 

  • Adaptability: One thing is certain – things change, sometimes on a daily basis. The best laid plans can blow up with new requirements from the client or a delay in something else getting done. Be prepared to prove to the hiring manager that you can make course corrections and still bring the project to a successful conclusion. 

  • Stakeholder management: Managing expectations and ensuring the right people have the right information at the right time is an ability that you'll want to have shine through during your interview. 

Common Project Manager interview questions and answers

Being a pro at the job of Project Manager doesn't necessarily translate into being able to properly respond to interview questions. You have to not only understand the core responsibilities of being a Project Manager; but you have to also be able to clearly articulate your skills and achievements – achievements being a key word here – to win the day. 

Let's explore more than 20 Project Manager interview questions and how you should answer them. 

1.      What do you consider the most vital part of any Project Manager's duties?

Answer: “Obviously, there are many different things that a Project Manager must do to successfully guide a project to completion. Each project needs to be assessed, organized, and planned, with tasks distributed to the right team members. Ultimately, though, I believe that none of that can be effectively accomplished without great communication between the Project Manager, team members, clients, and other stakeholders.”

2.      Tell me about some of your favorite project management tools

Answer: “Throughout my time as a Project Manager, I've been lucky enough to use a variety of different tools, like Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Smartsheet, and ClickUp. Naturally, I've also used various video conferencing technologies, including Skype, Zoom, and Slack. I don't have a preferred tool since most of them can achieve the same ends once you become familiar with them.”

3.      How do you manage your team when disagreements occur?

Answer: “Conflict resolution skills are one of the most important things for any Project Manager to possess. Any team composed of strong performers is going to inevitably have its share of disagreements, but it's vital to ensure that those conflicts are resolved as quickly as possible. My approach in those situations is to immediately take any discussion to a neutral location, where I can work with the disputants to identify the source of the conflict so that we can find a common ground solution.”

4.      Describe your most recent project

Answer: “My most recent project management effort involved a revision of our hiring and onboarding process. I ended up coordinating with several different departments, including HR and Operations, to create a more seamless hiring process that improved online platform integration. We then streamlined the onboarding and training programs and ultimately reduced our overall hiring and onboarding process from five weeks to three.”

5.      How would you respond to a change in deadlines or project details?

Answer: “These types of changes occur from time to time, so it's important to be resilient and adaptable when a curveball comes your way. One particular instance comes to mind: we had a project a couple of years ago that saw dramatic changes in the client's leadership team shortly after the project started. The new leadership suddenly presented a host of changes and new deadline expectations, so I had to modify our original plan to meet those expectations without letting costs mount. By communicating the impact of the changes, we were able to agree a new scope that could be delivered within the original deadlines and budgets”

6.      Can you describe a time when you helped team members to develop a new skill?

Answer: “During my management of an IT project last year, we had several members of the team who had to be introduced to a new piece of software that we were integrating into our systems. Fortunately, I had familiarized myself with the program during the project planning stage and was able to help them to develop the skills needed to effectively use the new tool.”

7.      How do you deal with underperforming members of your team?

Answer: “I'm a big believer in constructive criticism and its power to improve everything from morale to overall work performance. In most instances, my focus on providing regular feedback to my team has helped them avoid any underperformance issues. However, on those rare occasions when someone falls short of expectations, I use a combination of positive feedback and constructive criticism to help them to realign their priorities and get back on track.”

8.      Give me an example of a time when you challenged an employer's normal way of doing things

Answer: “While I always endeavor to adapt to my employer's preferred processes, there have been a few times when I've offered alternative solutions or processes that I believed could benefit the company. One example of that is the time that I discovered that our existing vendor approval process had layers of unnecessary redundancy spread across several departments. I offered a remedy that consolidated those steps, which management ultimately approved and implemented.”

9.      What is the first thing you do when you are assigned to a new project?

Answer: “I always begin each new project with a meeting with all of the relevant stakeholders. For me, it is vital to ensure that we all share the same mindset about our goals and expectations for process, results, and deadlines. At one such meeting several years ago, I was able to deduce that the client actually desired a delivery date two weeks earlier than the proposed deadline. Knowing that ahead of time enabled me to adapt and ensure that we met those expectations.”

10.  Can you provide an example of a time when you improved your own project management processes?

Answer: “I pride myself on always working toward greater efficiency in my project management efforts. As a result, I find that I'm always making strides in that quest for improvement. For example, just a few months ago, I worked with two of my team members to integrate greater automation into our team reporting processes. Those changes helped us to eliminate nearly two hours of report compilation time each week.”

11.  How do you deal with difficult clients or other stakeholders?

Answer: “I've always found that patience and active listening are the best allies I can have when I'm dealing with difficult personalities. Last year, one of my clients had a reputation as a bit of a curmudgeon - which is why his project ended up in my lap. Turns out, no one else wanted to deal with him. Instead of viewing him as a challenge, however, I recognized that there was an opportunity to try to connect with him. By actively listening to him and respecting his concerns, I was able to build a rapport that continues to this day.”

12.  Tell me about how you evaluate and monitor the risks associated with any new project

Answer: “Risk management is clearly one of the most vital tasks I have to perform for every project I manage. My process can vary a little, depending on the nature of the project, but typically involves a comprehensive assessment of every potential risk. I log each of those to create a record that I can use as I monitor potential threats to the project over time. To get buy-in and cooperation from my team, we establish a schedule for following up on our assessments over the life of the project.”

13.  Describe a time when you felt like you weren't provided with enough information to complete a project or decide on a course of action

Answer: “Early on in my career as a Project Manager, leadership came to me with a new project that one of our biggest clients wanted done in a very short period of time. Since that client had delivered the project details directly to our CEO, some of the most important questions never got asked during the initial intake. It took me two weeks to get anyone from the client's company to respond to our request for additional details, which left us with even less time to get the project completed.

Fortunately, we got it done on time and just under budget. Still, that experience taught me the value of ensuring that everyone is on the same page when it comes to project initiation and information-gathering processes.”

14.  How do you deal with someone challenging your point of view or decisions?

Answer: “I actually encourage my team members to share their ideas with me, because I believe that everyone has something of value to contribute to a discussion. However, I also make it clear that the free flow of ideas ends once a final decision is made. Without that certainty, it's almost impossible to move forward on any project.”

15.  Give me an example of a time when you made a mistake during a project and tell me how you handled that

Answer: “This one is kind of embarrassing for me. Years ago, I was a newbie at a business. One of the first projects I was tasked with leading included a typo in the project outline. I was new and wanted to make a good first impression, so I was too proud to double-check all of the details I was provided. As a result, we ended up spending several days focused on something that nobody wanted us to do. Fortunately, I did make my scheduled progress report to the client - who had a good laugh when he realized that we were so far off-task.

Once he pointed out the typo - and was gracious enough to accept his part in our misadventure, the project went forward as planned. We did have to redouble our efforts to make up for that lost time, though. In the end, I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of verifying all project details before the project gets underway to avoid those types of failures.”

16.  If you had a project go awry, what would you do to get it back on course?

Answer: “That actually happened to me a couple of years ago. A sudden change in the marketplace called our project's viability into question. I responded by calling a meeting with the primary stakeholders and my team, so that we could assess the true viability of the effort and determine whether any changes needed to be made. Ultimately, we ended up concluding that the project needed to be scrapped at that time, since the market conditions no longer justified its continuation. However, we ended up restarting the effort five months later, after the crisis had passed.”

17.  Describe your leadership style

Answer: “My leadership style is a combination of different approaches, but tends to emphasize cooperation within a structured hierarchy. I encourage input from my team and focus on empowering everyone through delegation, but also maintain a decision-making hierarchy to ensure that every element of the project can continue moving forward without delay.”

18.  Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an unhappy customer.

Answer: “I took over a project from a former colleague several years ago, after he unexpectedly fell ill. His illness caused some disruption in the project and left him unable to maintain regular contact with our client, which left the customer feeling disrespected and very dissatisfied. To correct that situation, I set aside time each day to get in touch with the client and provide progress reports. In the end, his company was so satisfied that they signed a long-term contract with us.”

19.  How do you use delegation to effectively get more out of your team?

Answer: “Delegation is one of the most powerful tools in any Project Manager's toolkit and is the only way that you can ever successfully be in two places at the same time. To effectively use delegation, however, you need to know your team and their strengths and weaknesses. That's why I always work to understand each team member, so that I can empower them to their fullest and delegate the tasks and responsibilities that are most aligned with their styles and capabilities.”

20.  How would you describe your management style? Are you a big picture type of manager, or more focused on details?

Answer: “I've always been a detail-oriented type of person, but have learned to better understand the big picture as I've gained more experience as a Project Manager. The details are vitally important in my role, since attention to detail is necessary to ensure that the elements of each project are properly completed. However, that big picture understanding has helped me to put those details into better context over the last several years, and I think my management skills have improved as a result of that expanding perspective.”

21.  How do you ensure that projects don't expand their scope beyond the original budget and deadline?

Answer: “Time and resource management are key elements in maintaining project scope. That's why I focus on ensuring that we have a viable project plan, with proper resource allocation and scheduling, before we ever greenlight a given effort. I then maintain close monitoring over resources and task schedules throughout the project, to make sure that we avoid any potential “scope creep” that might cause delays or cost overruns.”

22.  Tell me about a time when you had to be adaptable to successfully complete a project

Answer: “Circumstances change over time, so it's not uncommon to face new challenges that require me to be adaptable. I'm reminded of a tech project that I oversaw several years ago and how our attempts to integrate a new software system into our existing network were complicated by structural incompatibilities with the hardware we were using. I had to meet with our leadership team to obtain approval for an expanded budget to overcome those incompatibilities and then spent several days familiarizing myself with the proposed fix so that I could properly guide my team.”

23.  What does project success mean to you?

Answer: “Project success is more than just completing the overall project. Any given project is only truly successful if it meets and exceeds the expectations of the client and other stakeholders, while being delivered on time and within budget. I also judge any project's broader success by how effectively my team and I responded to the challenge, and any lessons that we may have learned along the way. Ultimately, successful projects invariably represent the best efforts of my team and our company.”

Put your best foot forward

To succeed in your job search for a great position as a Project Manager, you need to exceed expectations in any interview with prospective employers. Fortunately, the right Project Manager interview preparation can help you to achieve that goal. By taking the time to become more familiar with common Project Manager interview questions and the best ways to answer them, you can better ensure that you make the best possible impression on your interviewer and land that all-important job offer.

Make sure that you're fully prepared for your next Project Manager interview by securing a session with one of our expert professional interview coaches today!

This article was originally written by Ken Chase. It's been updated by Marsha Hebert.

Recommended reading:

Related Articles: