PMO | How to Prepare for a Project Management Interview

If you have been invited to interview for a project or program management position, let's discuss how to prepare for it both emotionally and technically.

Before we dive into that, let's clarify what it means to be invited to an interview. If you receive an invitation, it indicates that you are one of the selected candidates whose background aligns with the job requirements. This invitation signifies that you have passed an initial evaluation. In other words, your core profile—comprising your experiences and skills—meets their qualifications. Occasionally, you may need to address certain requirements, but the team is offering you an interview because they believe you have the potential to bridge any gaps. So, be confident!

Here are some tips to help you prepare for the interview:

1. Emotional Readiness
Think about why you like this job and what opportunity you value the most. Are you excited about starting a new journey? Can you bring passion and dedication to the role? Please take a moment to reflect on why you are drawn to this job, its challenges, and how you are prepared to face them. Envision yourself in the position and convince yourself that you are the right fit for the job.

2. Program Management Skills
Program management skills refer to your expertise in managing projects. If you have PMP or other project management certifications, you may be asked questions in this area. However, if you don't have such certifications, prepare to discuss fundamental topics such as a project lifecycle, delivery, performance validation, and risk management. The skills will focus on planning, stakeholder management, and communications. If your position requires cross-functional collaboration and a global team, you must know the best practices for managing cross-functional initiatives and international engagement. 

Please prepare to discuss 1-2 projects that you have worked on in the past. You should be ready to answer questions like "Can you tell me more about your past project management experiences?" During the discussion, you should be able to cover the project scoping (time, deliverables, and budget), planning (task breakdown, milestones, critical path), stakeholder engagement (communication plan), execution (process, meeting cadence, tools), and risk mitigation experiences. You may also be asked how you address team conflicts and solve problems in your projects.  

3. Soft Skills
The interviewer may ask about your problem-solving mindset, decision-making process, attention to detail, teamwork, collaboration approaches, conflict management, and customer relationship management. Pause before answering the question. Don't hesitate to ask questions for more information or clarification. Sometimes, the interviewer intentionally omits some information and waits to see if you will ask clarifying questions.

4. Culture Fit
During a job interview, you may be asked about the company's culture or questions about cultural fit. Examples are continuous improvement, innovation, customer focus, accountability, and teamwork. Unlike soft skills, this test focuses more on the core values you keep. To learn more about a specific company's culture, you can ask ChatGPT to provide a summary. For example, you could ask, "Could you provide some information about Netflix's corporate culture?" you will receive a very comprehensive answer.

5. Your Visions 
Prepare a question asking for potential improvement of the organization or product. Learn about the team and ensure you understand the business. Only provide suggestions if requested, and clarify that your proposal has to adjust as more information is collected after joining the team. 

In summary, an interview is as much about assessing fit for you as it is for the employer. Your technical skills, emotional readiness, understanding of the company culture, and ability to engage in meaningful dialogue are crucial to interview success.

Reference 

1. Andrew Seaman, How to Showcase Your Communication, Meeting-Leadership Skills During an Interview, October 8, 2024