by scragz via Flickr
This morning I received a question from a member of the pmStudent community who has an interview on Monday for a project management role. Here I will share the advice I gave and ask for your own input.
Tip #1 – Don’t dress like Magneto from the X-Men comics. (See picture)
There are so few project management roles where this is appropriate attire anymore. Sad, really. The last time I wore my spider man costume to an interview I had to escape through a window. It seems companies just don’t appreciate super hero project managers anymore. What a shame…
Be Serious Josh!
OK…OK…
Let me start by advising to everyone that you shouldn’t wait for an interview to start preparing for one. Interview questions have similar themes and you should have a written set of common questions and responses even if you’re not looking for a job right now. You could be out of a job tomorrow and scrambling to find a new one. It’s better to do most of the preparation when you don’t have the added stress of being out of work. This goes for updating your resume/CV, networking, etc.
Click the link below and read the article. It will open in a new window, and after you’ve finished reading it come back here. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. 
Holy Crap, They Called Me For an Interview!
If You Didn’t Read That
Shame on you.
Or even if you did, let me emphasize 2 points in particular. Treat the interview like a discussion and give specifics, really tell a story from your past in response to the questions. Leave out names and even companies if it’s sensitive…focus on the trait or experience your story is trying to convey.
Sample Questions That I Like To Ask
Here is a list of some questions….of course they might not ask any of these in your situation, there’s no way for me to know.
- Tell me about yourself - Try http://www.15secondpitch.com/new to help you formulate a good 15 second “about me” statement
- Tell us about your experience in managing different projects and how this can contribute to our position.
- How do you handle non-productive team members?
- How do you motivate team members who are burned out, or bored?
- What have you learned from your failures?
- Give me an example of a win-win situation you have negotiated.
- Tell me about a tough decision you had to make?
- Describe how you recently managed a diverse project team towards a common goal.
- Describe the most complex project you have managed from start to finish.
- How do you handle team members who come to you with their personal problems?
- Give me an example of a stressful situation you have been in. How did you handle it?
- What are your career goals? How do you see this job affecting your goals?
- Why are you interested in this position?
- What do you believe qualifies you for this position?
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