[0:00]Hi there, my name's Richard McMahon from the interview training website passmyinterview.com and in this video I'm going to teach you how to pass a project manager interview. And in a second, I am going to walk through this door and undertake a live project manager interview. So if you have a project manager interview coming up for any organization whatsoever, make sure you stay tuned because I will help you to pass it. So let's walk through this door and undertake this live project manager interview. Let's go. Enter. Hi there, my name's Richard. Hi, Richard. Nice to meet you. And you. Nice to meet you. Thank you very much. Please take a seat. Thank you very much.
[0:47]Welcome to the interview, Richard. My name's Andrew and this is my colleague Joshua. Today we're going to be interviewing you for the role of project manager. So, if you're sitting comfortably and ready, can you start by telling me about yourself? Well, thank you very much for inviting me to be interviewed for this project manager position today with your organization. Over the years, I have built up extensive skills, qualities, attributes, and experience that I believe are a match for this job description. I am very passionate about project management, I take my responsibilities seriously. I am an exceptional communicator, both in writing and when speaking with project team members, stakeholders and contractors and I'm very good at building relationships with people because I believe to be effective as a project manager, you need to build strong relationships. I am also very good at working under pressure and I particularly thrive when I have very tight project deadlines to work towards. I also have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the project life cycle. I understand how to apply different elements of it to make sure all projects are completed on time and more importantly to specification and to the required standards. So over the years I've worked in a variety of different roles managing lots of different projects, lots of different peoples and I always pride myself on making sure that I achieve the commercial and financial objectives of my employer. I am the type of person that if you employ me as your project manager, I will quickly make a big difference in the projects that I am managing. Whenever I manage the projects, I will align them to your strategic vision and I plan to become an integral part of your organization as a project manager. Thank you. Why do you want to be a project manager? There are several reasons why I want to become a project manager. The first reason is the fact that I enjoy the level of responsibility that comes with this position. I like the challenge that the role presents, I also like the fact that being a project manager, there is always something new to learn. Now, even though I am not young anymore, I am highly inexperienced, but I also believe that I always have something new to learn. And if you have that attitude and your approach when being a project manager, then that enables you to continually improve and excel within the position. I enjoy working under pressure and I particularly thrive when I am given very tight deadlines to meet. So if you say to me, Richard, we have a project that needs to be taken over, but the deadline is really tight, then I will apply myself, I will analyze the project, see what we need to do to get it to work on time and get completed to the required standard and I particularly enjoy being in that type of situation. I like, if I'm being honest, being the person who's in control. You know, I like to take control of projects. I have the experience needed to deal with difficult people, different contractors at times and I'm very, very good at building relationships with people. I like the fact that being a project manager, there is a lot of sense of achievement that comes with the position. So there is, in my opinion, no better feeling than completing a really good job, a really good project for your employer. So basically, I enjoy the challenge that comes with being a project manager, I like dealing with people, I like being placed under pressure, I like the fact that you get to learn and develop within the role continuously. Thank you. What are the five stages of the project life cycle? The five stages of the project life cycle are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and also the closing and testing stage. So the initiation stage of the project life cycle would involve me sitting down with the senior management team, yourselves, discussing what the project requirements are, the purpose of the project and what it is you need me to achieve. So I would ask several questions about what it is you need me to do and achieve as your project manager. Once the initiation stage is established, I would then go away and start planning the project. How am I going to achieve the goals of the project and more importantly, to make sure that it is completed on time. I would then look at conducting the execution stage of the project. Who's going to do what, what resources do we need and again, who's going to carry out each task within a specific time frame. And it's very important that when you are executing the, um, the project that you have the right people in place to do the jobs based on their strengths and also their experience. So the next stage is the monitoring and control stage. As I said at the start of the interview, I like to be the person in control. So even though I will give project team members a level of autonomy, the book rests with me. So the responsibility of the project rests with me and I will take control of the project, I will steer, I will respond to problems as and when they occur, I'll try and foresee any problems. But I will monitor the performance of my team, whether it's face-to-face or remotely and I will make sure that I have control of the project to ensure that it meets each key stage element that we need to meet to get it over the finishing line. Finally, the closing stage is where we assess whether the project has met the specification and also the testing stage. We need to make sure that the project works, that it meets the initial initiation stage, the objectives of the project. So those are the five different key elements of the project life cycle that I would follow as a project manager. Thank you. What are the most important skills and qualities needed to be a project manager? The most important skills and qualities needed include an in-depth understanding of the project life cycle, which I've just discussed. You need to have exceptional people skills because as a project manager, you need to build really good relationships with people and there needs to be a level of respect and a level of professionalism because you, as the project manager are going to make unpopular decisions. But you need people to work for you to get the project over the finishing line. You need to be a really good leader, undoubtedly. Yes, you need management skills as a project manager, but you need to be a good leader, you need to be able to motivate your team to help them to feel inspired about the project and to do it to the best of their abilities. You also need to be an exceptional communicator both when speaking with people and also when writing reports. Everything has to be accurate, it has to be clear and concise so that people in the project team understand what it is they need to need to do and by what time frame. And you need to be a good listener. So if there are problems within a team, you need to listen to them carefully, get to the root of the problem because then that gives you information that will enable you to make the right decisions moving forward. I also believe some of the most important skills and qualities needed include the fact that you need to foresee potential problems down the line. You need to look ahead strategically and think to yourself, we're part way through this project, what could go wrong and have a plan in place to deal with them. You also need to be consistent. So people see that you are a consistent project manager. Because that enables you to build trust and you have to build trust amongst your team members and with the stakeholders, the contractors and the suppliers that you are inevitably going to use. Finally, another most important skill or quality is conflict resolution. So, undoubtedly, there will always be problems or conflict within a project team that you are managing and you have to jump on that quickly and resolve it to enable the project to continually move forward. Thank you. How do you handle underperformance in a team? Whenever dealing with underperformance as a project manager, I will take decisive action quickly. Because I believe that a project can quickly fall down if just one member of the team is not carrying out their duties to the necessary standard and it also looks bad from other team members' perspectives. So they would look at it and think that person isn't helping the team and it can quickly escalate. So I would make sure that I jumped on it quickly and I would speak to the individual to establish exactly why they weren't performing to the required standard and I would ask them questions and I would listen whilst they were speaking. I would never jump to conclusions, they may be experiencing problems at home, for example, which would be impacting on their ability to work effectively. So I would find out what the problem was and I would then put a plan of action in place to make sure that they got back up to speed quickly. But they also need to agree with this plan of action, they need to be on board fully with what they need to do to get back up to speed. And it might be the case that they don't have the right tools or resources to do their job properly or they may not have been given the right training and in which case I would make sure that that was rectified straight away. But being a confident and assertive project manager, I would tackle underperformance quickly and decisively. Thank you. What are your strengths and weaknesses? I would say my strengths which I believe will be a benefit to your organization include the fact that as a project manager, I am commercially aware. And I understand that my performance and the performance of the team that I am managing is integral to the success of your business. And I will always work with you to make sure that all projects are completed on time and again to the necessary specification and standard. Other strengths include the fact that I am a good communicator. I am good at dealing with people, I am good at motivating people and I am a very good leader and I take responsibility for things. Everything rests with me, it's down to me how a project goes and I will always be open to learning and improving. So once a project is finished, I'll always analyze the project to see where we went wrong or how we can improve for next time. And on that basis, I am somebody who will always ensure high standards are adhered to at all times. Other strengths include the fact that I have the ability to foresee problems, I'm very good at that. So I have the experience to look ahead and think that could go wrong, that could hinder the progress of the project, so let's take decisive action now, let's put a plan B in place to make sure that it doesn't affect us. In respect of my weakness, I would say that I find it hard asking other people for help. Because I'm the type of project manager who likes to be in control, I have belief in my own abilities. And when a problem occurs, I tend to spend time thinking, right, how can I resolve this. And of course, sometimes the simple solution would be to pick up the phone, speak to somebody else in the organization to get their advice and guidance. But having said that, another strength of mine is the fact that I am always open to learning and improving and I am trying to be more mindful in situations like that whenever they do occur. Thank you. How do you handle conflict in a team? The first thing I will do whenever I experience conflict amongst team members is to let them know that I am aware the conflict exists. If two people know that I am aware of the conflict, they are more likely to resolve it quickly. Whenever I start managing a team, I always lay out the foundations of what I expect and how I expect people to operate. And one of those is to let them know that whenever there is conflict, they need to sort it out quickly because otherwise it will hinder the progress of our project. Now, if they are unable to resolve the conflict, I will step in, I will analyze what the problem is, what the viewpoints are of the people experiencing the conflict and I will then make a decision that's always in the best interests of the project and the organization that I am working for. So I am a confident person who will resolve conflict quickly and I have the experience and the resources to do so. So the next thing to do if you want to pass your project manager interview is to click that link right now in the top right hand corner of this video and head through to my website passmyinterview.com where you can download my 21 project manager interview questions and top scoring answers including the ones I've just covered during this video tutorial. Also, please make sure you subscribe to this channel, I am on a mission to help as many of you as possible to pass your interviews and I can only do that if you are subscribed to the channel and please make sure you give the video a like because that tells me you find the content useful and it motivates me to create more for you. Thank you so much for watching and paying attention and I wish you all the best for passing your project manager interview. Have a great day.
