5 Important Questions to Ask When Interviewing a Project Manager

So you’re ready to launch your startup and in need of a project manager to assist with the coordination of the activities in your organization. Then you’re wondering how best you can select a perfect project manager who can do the job for you. Choosing the best project manager is always a daunting task for the interviewers as the success of your project rests on it. You don’t want to leave no stone unturned in the quest of selecting an excellent one for your project.

Choosing the best project manager

We’ve prepared five crucial questions you should ask any project managers during the interview. Pay close attentions to the answers given to these questions as they would determine who you should opt for.

1. The first questions to ask any prospective project manager is what type of project has he worked on before? What’s the size in terms of money? What’s the size of the team involved in the project?
Answers to these questions will show you if the person has the experience and expertise you’re looking for. An individual with varied experiences working on different projects will know how best to react if the going gets tough.

2. The next question should be something like, would you say you’ve got interest in any particular aspect of project management?
This question is crucial as it tells you the area of specialization of the candidate you’re considering. This way, you can easily screen in or out if he fits into what you’re looking for or not.
In furtherance to this, you may be looking for someone who is well-rounded in project management as against someone who’s just a technician in an aspect of project management. It helps you make an informed decision as regards selection.

3. The next question you should consider asking all candidates vying for a project manager’s post in your establishment is, what would you say is most daunting part of project management?
You should carefully listen to the response here as it tells you a ton of things about the person you’re interviewing.

4. Another important question should be, Art or Science of project management, which is crucial and why?
Since everything rotates around people, art of project management is crucial. Filling out a report is less important when compared to getting people to perform tasks.

5. The last question you should ask any prospective project manager during interview is, why do most projects fail? And what are the things he thinks can be done to avoid it?
There will be a ton of different responses to these questions. These answers will easily inform you what type of leader each of the candidates is and this can subsequently help you in your selection of a project manager for your project.

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