Project Manager Interview Questions

Background
What draws you to our company
o Where do you feel you could contribute
o What is it about our company that interests you
o How do you see our company matching up with your career goals
Tell me about your last role.
o What did you like about it
o Dislike
o What was your greatest challenge in this role
What is your definition of Project Management
o How do you know you are a good one
Have you ever made a big mistake as a Project Manager
o What was it
o How did it turn out
What is the largest project in terms of dollars and people you have led
What do you believe are the basic principles of software development
o What software development methodologies are you most comfortable with
o Are you familiar with XP

Project Delivery
Tell me about a time you had to manage a complex problem when you did not have in depth skills in the particular area.
o What was the situation
o How did you approach it
o How did you approach diagnosis and investigation of the problem to make sure you had all the facts
o How did you resolve it
o What did you do to make sure it stayed on track
Think of a situation when you had to make a hard technical decision.
o Describe the situation.
o How did you approach the decision making process
o Who did you involve and why
Tell me about a time when a project you were leading went off track from a schedule or scope perspective.
o What was the problem
o What did you do How did you approach it
o What was the outcome
o What is your approach to monitor progress
Tell me about a high pressured work related situation that you have been in recently.
o What was causing the pressure
o How did you respond
o Tell me about what you did personally and how you worked with your team and client during this time
o What specific things did you do to make sure your response/approach was successful
Tell me about a situation where you had to confront an individual to deal with conflict related to an obstacle.
o How did you approach the conflict
o What did you do to negotiate with the individual
o What was the result
You’ve been assigned as Project Manager/Delivery Leader for a project. What specific things would you do or have you done in the past to lead and drive delivery versus track and manage
o How did you balance the ability to leverage tasks while also leading overall delivery
Let’s talk about how you approach dependencies on a project.
o How have you exposed dependencies in the past
o What have you done to manage and monitor these dependencies
What processes/structures do you use to plan projects And manage projects
o Tell me how you build a program plan and schedule.
o Tell me how you track to progress of a project.
How did you go about understanding your client requirements
o Is that your general approach
o When has it not worked
o What are the risks with it
o How do you handle those risks
When beginning a project, tell me what you do to kick-off a project.
o What do you do
o How do you communicate
o Who do you communicate to
Tell me about a time when your recommendation or approach did not line up with the clients.
o Tell me a little more about the situation.
o What did you do
o What did you do to reach a mutually agreeable outcome
o How did you leverage and build on your past experiences, skills and knowledge
Describe how you transitioned a project after it had been implemented in production.