18 Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers

The PM Interview Questions and Answers in this PDF have been fetched from the Master of
Project Academy’s “18 Project Manager Interview Questions & Answers” blog post. See: 18
Project Manager Interview Questions & Answers post.

Q1-) Please describe yourself, your background briefly.

A1-) Sample Answer

I was born in 1991 in New Jersey. I grew up in New Jersey and went to high school there. I
have completed my university education in Georgia Institute of Technology in the field of
computer science. After I graduated from university in 2013, I applied for the software
analyst position of Accenture in Plano, Texas. After a couple of interviews, I got the job and
since 2013, I am working at Accenture as Software Analyst. I have worked in eight projects
until now and the biggest one was shopping cart customization project of Walmart website.
Project took eight months to complete. There were four software analysts and I worked as
the lead analyst and supervised the other three analysts. There were 11 software
developers and 6 test engineers. In total, project team had over 20 members. Last year, I got
a promotion from the employer and my title has changed as Lead Analyst. This is my
background in brief.

Q2-) What was the biggest or most challenging project you managed?

Q2-) Sample Answer

The most challenging project I was involved was Golden Gate Bridge Construction Program. I
was managing the project of construction of the towers that will carry the bridge. There
were three architects, six civil engineers and 47 construction workers in my team. In total, I
managed 56 project team members during this project. The most challenging part of the
project was meeting the deadlines. Because, several other projects were dependent on my
project. Any delay in my project was causing delays on the rest of the project. For instance, a
one-day delay in my project was causing 200 hundred construction workers to wait for our
work to be completed. And the cost of one-day delay was around $80,000. This was causing
a big pressure in executive management of the company and therefore it was a big challenge
for me as well.

Q3-) Do you have budget management experience?

Q3-) Sample Answer

I have managed the project budgets in my projects as well. I managed up to 35-million-dollar

project budget. I was in charge of approving expenses and procurements in my projects. I
was contacting directly with the vendors during procurement and managing the
communication with finance department of the company. In case any additional funding
needed, I was organizing meeting with the project sponsor to express the reasons of
additional funding. I was responsible for finding additional funding for the project when
needed.

Karen Paulino had several PM interviews and got a PM job recently. See Karen’s PM Job
Interview Journey.

Q4-) Have you ever failed in a project? Do you have any experience of handling
failures?

Q4-) Sample Answer

When I was managing a telecommunication project, after our software package deployment,
subscribers of the telecom operator could not make calls from a specific region. This was the
biggest failure I had in my projects.

Actually, we did all post deployment tests and everything was green. Next morning, I woke
up with the phone call of my customer. He was so angry and complaining that 87 subscribers
reported that they could not originate a call from their phone. I tried to calm down the
customer on the phone and told him that we, as whole project team, will be arriving on site
in one hour to investigate the problem and fix it.

Right after my customer phone call, I called the software developers and test engineers to
come back at office to investigate this issue.

We were in the office, whole project team, in 45 minutes. Our software engineers
investigated the problem. However, they could not find any hint regarding the problem.
Majority of the subscribers were able to do calls without any problem. Customer was
getting angrier each minute because as the time passes, number of complaints started to
increase.
All reported incidents were from Louisville, Kentucky. We thought that this is a local problem
affecting only a part of the subscribers. We contacted with three of the subscribers who
reported this problem and asked them to re-initiate a call. In the meantime, our software
and test engineers collected logs of the failing calls. After analysis, they found that a
customized routing for Louisville city was not updated by customer during deployments.
After defining the routing, problem was resolved. It was a long six hours of my life. Customer
was on my neck and asking the situation each minute while we were trying to fix the issue.

Q5-) How do you monitor projects whether it is going on track?

Q5-) Sample Answer

After I completed the initial project planning, I take a baseline. I use this baseline to
compare the progress of the project and actual values against the baseline. Each week or in
every two weeks, I forecast the duration and cost of remaining project activities with my
team to determine whether the negotiated deadline and budget will be met. I use Microsoft
Excel to keep track of issue log. I assign an open issue to a project resource or any external
resource in project issue log. I set a deadline for the issue and I follow the issue until it is
resolved. I use Microsoft Project for creating project plan. However, I have used Jira
software tracking tool as well. When I am using Microsoft Project, I compare the actual
values of the tasks with the baseline values. This helps me to see whether a task is on track,
behind schedule or ahead of schedule. When I am using Jira, I create my own dashboards for
late tasks or open tasks. I report these tasks to the assignees each week or more frequently
if they are urgent.

Q6-) Can you tell me an example of how you communicated a failure to your
team, manager, and customer?

Q6-) Sample Answer

We were working on an online learning portal project of an oil company. Deadline of the
project was Feb 15, 2016. Although we completed our development tasks and internal tasks
on time, customer could not complete their acceptance test on time.

Executive management of the customer was pushing to deliver the project on time.
However, since customer could not complete their acceptance tests, it was risky.
First, I called my manager. I wish we could have spoken face-to-face but she was in a
business trip at that time. I told her the situation. She agreed with me to speak about the
risk of the situation with the customer.

Then, I organized a meeting with the project team. I told the team that they did all they
have to do. I added in the meeting that, we, as project team, met our deadlines and
objectives. However, customer could not complete their acceptance tests on time.
Therefore, we will be postponing the project launch for one month. This made some of the
project team members upset because we were working hard to complete the project on
time but the project was postponed because of a customer-sourced delay.

Finally, I organized a meeting with executive management of the customer. During the
meeting, I told to the project sponsor and executive managers of the customer that,
customer acceptance tests are not complete yet. In addition, if we launch the project, we
might face critical problems on live environment and this can cause dissatisfaction and lose
of reputation. At the end of the meeting, executive managers were agreed to wait till
customer acceptance tests completion.

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Q7-) How do you motivate the project team?

Q7-) Sample Answer

After I create the project baseline, I mark the milestones of the project. Then, I send this
project plan to all project team members. Whenever we pass a milestone successfully, I
organize an event to celebrate this. This can be a picnic, a weekend trip or a dinner
depending on the project budget or amount of the allowance provided by the company for
these celebrations.

Additionally, I try to celebrate birthday of each project team member. I organize a 30

minutes break for celebration and invite all project team members to this break.

Moreover, if a project team member over performed during the project, I send a special
email to his manager to appreciate his efforts. I know that these kinds of emails will be
important for the line managers of project team members when they are doing annual
performance evaluation of the employees. My appreciations will bring additional points and
opportunities for promotion or bonuses for the project team member respectively.

Q8-) Do you have outsource personnel or supplier management experience?

Q8-) Sample Answer

I was working for a billing system project for a telecom operator. One of the products we
had to install was Ericsson’s SDP product. Our company was not having a SDP product
expert. Therefore, we had to outsource two SDP product experts for three months to work
in our project. I managed the communication with Ericsson to outsource these two
consultants and planned their start and end dates in the project. Moreover, we had to install
24 servers of the SDP product in three different locations across UK. To do this, we have
negotiated with a server installation company, Servus. I was in the process of negotiation
with this supplier. I managed the SDP consultants and Servus, server installation company,
throughout the project.

Q9-) Do you have an international project team management experience?

Q9-) Sample Answer

I have managed a team of 15 project team members from five different nations. We were
working in a natural gas implementation project in Brazil. There were natural gas engineers,
environmental engineers and civil engineers in the project team. Five members were from
Brazil, three members were from UK, three members were from Spain, two members were
from India and two members were from Qatar. It was a great experience to learn from
different cultures when working with them.

It was the first time for me to work with project resources coming from a Muslim country,
Qatar. While most of the project team members were having Monday syndrome,
engineers from Qatar were performing better than other project team members on
Mondays! After some time, I asked these engineers why they are more willing to work on
Mondays. I learnt that, their official weekends are on Friday and Saturday. Therefore,
Sunday is their first weekday. Therefore, they were performing better on Mondays in our
project since it is 2nd day of their workweek. It was a strange experience for me to see
people better motivated on Mondays.

Q10-) How do you deal with gold plating in your project?

Q10-) Sample Answer

When I am assigning a task to a project team member, I clearly define the KPIs,
requirements and scope of the task. Then, I work closely with the technical leaders of the
project whether the project team member is doing gold plating. We were working for an e-
commerce website development project in US. The requirement of the customer was
loading the homepage in less than three seconds across US. Developer of the homepage was
a very skilled resource. Although he completed the homepage development before the
deadline of the task and with a loading time less than three seconds, he was trying to lower
the homepage loading time. Project technical noticed this during a weekly meeting and
notified me about the situation.

Developer was a skilled and motivated resource. I had to speak with him but not demotivate
him. I called him for a coffee in a break. First, I appreciated his efforts in the project. Then, I
explained him what the gold plating is. After that, I have expressed him that, we have a
project scope to finish first and we have to deliver what is required first. I told him that, If
we deliver a website project with missing web pages, this will be unacceptable. However, if
we deliver a homepage with a loading time less than three seconds, this will be accepted.
Therefore, we need to deliver what is required first before diving into optimizations. He
understood me very well and when he was performing his other activities; he did only the
scope of his task and then asked to get a new task.

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Q11-) You managed the project work as per requirements. However, the
customer is not happy with the result and does not accept the product. How
would you convince the customer?

Q11-) Sample Answer

At the end of my website development project, customer was not happy with the
delivered results. Therefore, they did not accept the project. Our initial scope was delivering
an ecommerce shopping website with five different pages:
1-Homepage
2-Login/Signup Page
3-Category Page
4-Product Page
5-Profile Page

We have delivered this agreed project scope at the end of the project. After customer
acceptance tests, they agreed that the features of these pages meet their initial
requirements. However, the customer was telling that, their competitor has a referral
program that boosts sales. They need to have same program feature as well.

I organized a meeting with the project sponsor and customer testing team as well. I asked
my manager to join the meeting as well. During that meeting, I have gone through the
agreed project scope and showed how our deliverables meet the initial scope. Then, I
explained that customer referral program was not mentioned anywhere in the requirements
list, agreed project scope and in contract as well.

Project sponsor told that this is a critical requirement and they have to get it before
launching the website. At this point, I told that we can deliver this as a change request in
one month. Customer did not want to pay any additional cost for the project. After some
discussions, my manager proposed a revised cost for this additional feature. Customer
accepted the proposal and we fixed this conflict. After delivering the customer referral
program feature one month later, customer was happy with the final product.

Q12-) How do you deal with underperforming project team members?

Q12-) Sample Answer

When I see an underperforming resource, first, I observe him whether it is a one-time issue
or occurring frequently. Because, depending on the daily life, each person can have
fluctuating motivation level. If the project team member is underperforming for a couple of
weeks, I invite him to a coffee break. First, I ask him how does he feel about the project,
whether he is happy to work in the project. Then, I ask him whether there is anything
demotivating him about the project, work or company. If there is a problem with the
project, work or company, I will try to find the root cause of the problem and then I try to
resolve the issue that is causing demotivation. In some cases, demotivation can be because
of the problems in daily life of the project team members. In that case, if the team member
tells about the problem, I will do my best to help him.

A software developer in my banking project was performing very well. All of a sudden, I
noticed a decent drop in his performance. After one week passed, I talked to him. I was
thinking that he was demotivated because of recent promotion and bonus
announcements in the company. However, I learned that, he just broke up with his long
lasting girlfriend. It was a personal issue, however, I tried my best to motivate him. I
organized a couple of team lunches that all project team attends to change his mood. After
two or three weeks, he was performing well again.

Q13-) How do you resolve conflicts in your projects?

Q13-) Sample Answer

I experienced several conflicts arising in my projects during my career. First thing to look
when a conflict arises is the source of conflict. Conflicts can be between two project team
members, between the team member and his lead, between two stakeholders etc. After
knowing the source of conflict, I look at the alternative solutions to resolve the conflict.
The best option to resolve a conflict is collaborating where all parties are happy. Of course, I
try to find a win-win situation first. If this is not possible, then, I try to analyze the pros and
cons of different alternatives for resolving the conflict. I try to demonstrate the pros and
cons of each resolution alternative analytically because numbers, figures, statistics and
mathematical approach is the best way to convince people for a solution. After showing
the alternative solutions, I guide people to rethink about the conflict. I expect them to reach
a consensus. If this is not possible again, I try to solve the conflict with democracy. For
instance, if the cause of the conflict is a how to solve a technical issue in a software project, I
show the options to the project team and expect the software developers to vote for the
best option to resolve the conflict.

Q14-) What are the three words that describe you best?

Q14-) Sample Answer

The best three words that would describe me can be discipline, result-driven and analytical
thinker.

My colleagues call me German. I am not a German you know it J. They tell that I am working
in a very well discipline, record every detail and approach in a systematic way to the
problems in the project.

When I am working on a project or task, I always keep in mind that “what is the expected
result?” Sometimes, if you forget what you are trying to achieve, you can deviate from your
targets. Therefore, keeping in mind the expected results help me to focus on what needs
to be done during the project.

I try to rationalize status, progress and alternative solutions to a problem. I do this by

approaching analytically to a problem. For instance, I create dashboards for waiting issues,
waiting time, assignee etc in a project to monitor how well the project team is resolving
issues. Similarly, I record the number of codes each developer produces a day to forecast
remaining activities in the project.

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Q15-) Why should we hire you?

Q15-) Sample Answer

When I saw that Apple is looking for a project manager, I was very excited. Because, Apple is
my dream company that I would love to work for. I went through the position details and
saw that you are looking for a 5+ years of IT project management experience with a special
focus on screen touch sensors. I have over seven years of project management experience
in software development projects. I worked for Elo for three years and managed their last
inductive led screen development project. I’ve heard from the recent news that, Apple is
planning to remove “home” button from IPhone and move the features of the “home”
button to the screen. My software project management experience in a screen company
will be very much beneficial for the projects in Apple. I will learn a lot from Apple culture as
well.

Q16-) Where do you see yourself in five years?

Q16-) Sample Answer

I have over nine years of experience. Last four years is project management experience. I
want to proceed my career as a project manager for the following three years. Then, I
would like to evaluate the further level of management position opportunities, such as
program manager or project manager opportunities, that will be arising in the company.
I have PMP certification. I am planning to take ITIL foundation certification to improve my
IT service management skills and PSM-1 certification to improve my agile project
management skills.

I am pretty sure that project management experience in this company will add a lot to my
professional background.

Q17-) What is your current salary and compensation package?

Q17-) Sample Answer

Be honest when you are responding to this question. Note that, human resources
departments of companies are very well aware of industry salary benchmarks. Therefore,
they will be able to estimate your salary and compensation package.

If you say a salary that is too much above the benchmark, you can even lose the job
opportunity. Because there will be a limit of what the company can pay for this position.
Briefly, tell what you earn and compensation package when this question is asked in your
project manager interview.

Q18-) What is your salary expectation?

Q18-) Sample Answer

There is not a concrete answer to this question. However, the common practice is, aim to
increase your salary by at least 20% in your next job.
Considering your current salary and compensation package, you should tell your
expectations. You should not say a salary and compensation expectation that is too much
above your current package.

Hint: Do not risk your next PM Job Interview! Attend in PM Mock Interview sessions, see
how you perform, and improve your PM interview skills.