Interview guides

Project Management Professionals

Assess leaders in planning, budgeting, and agile collaboration.

AI in Project Management
  • Have you used AI-powered project assistants for scheduling, reporting, or risk forecasting?
  • How do you validate AI outputs for accuracy, bias, or ethical concerns?
  • Have you integrated AI in resource allocation or predictive analytics?
  • How have AI-driven insights changed your decision-making process?
  • How do you see AI reshaping the role of PMs over the next 3–5 years
Certifications
  • Do you hold PMP, PRINCE2, PMI-ACP, SAFe, or other certifications?
  • Which certifications have been most useful in practice?
  • PMP vs PRINCE2: Which do you prefer and why?
Governance
  • What is your familiarity with governance?
  • How did you align your last project with business strategy?
  • Have you developed a project governance framework?
  • Have you used a gating methodology? Please explain the process and how many gates were used.
  • How did you manage projects where governance roles were shared across multiple stakeholders?
  • Have you had a situation where stakeholders tried to bypass governance to meet deadlines? How did you handle it?
Issue & Risk Management
  • Do you have experience with issue and risk management on a project? How would you differentiate the two?
  • What was your role in identifying issues/risks and performing analysis?
  • Describe a project with high risks and how you minimized them.
  • Did you work with a Risk Manager? If so, how did you collaborate?
  • Who was responsible for controlling issues/risks?
  • “Issues and risks are birds of the same feather, but not quite the same.” What is the difference, and how do you manage them separately?
  • Risks are potential, while issues are certain. How do you handle each?
  • Have you used AI or predictive analytics for proactive risk monitoring?
IT Project Management

Infrastructure

  • Tell me about your experience managing server consolidations.
  • What is your experience with planning/managing data centre migrations or consolidations?
  • What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?
  • Describe managing projects involving converting physical servers to virtual platforms. Which virtualization platform was used?
  • How were hypervisor servers configured for high availability?
  • What type of shared storage was used?
  • Describe handling a refresh of an application stack (hardware, OS, middleware, app). How did you plan it?
  • What were some challenges?

Application Development

  • Why is the SDLC important?
  • Describe your background in Agile or other SDLC methodologies.
  • Do you prefer Agile or Waterfall? Why?
  • What does project velocity mean?
  • What PM tools have you used (Jira, Azure DevOps, MS Project, Smartsheet)?
  • What would you do if you found a major glitch during testing?
  • Describe modifying a design when requirements changed.
  • Are you responsible for delivery and financials, or just administration? Share your last project’s goals/results.
  • How would you manage cascading delays when one element slips?
  • Have you used formal gating methodologies in SDLC? How many gates? What’s your view of the process?
Organizational Influences
  • What types of project organization have you worked on (functional, weak matrix, balanced matrix, strong matrix, project-based)?
  • What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?
  • What was the structure of the organization? How many departments and/or management team members were involved?
  • What impact did corporate culture have on the projects you managed?
  • As more workplaces adopt hybrid models, what impact have you seen on morale, wellbeing, and performance?
  • “People don’t like to be managed; they like to be led.” How accurate is this statement?
Procurement Management
  • As a PM, were you responsible for procurement? If so, what aspects?
  • What role did you play in procurement (vendor selection, RFPs, evaluation)?
  • Have you prepared a Statement of Work for technical resources?
  • How did you balance cost, compliance, and value in procurement decisions?
Project Approval Documentation Development
  • Have you been part of the project approval process prior to kickoff?
  • How would you manage a stakeholder approval meeting to ensure desired outcomes? Would this change virtually vs. in person?
  • Have you developed a full project charter? If not, were you part of the development?
  • What elements do you typically include in a project charter?
  • What success metrics have you detailed in charters (ROI, adoption rates, ESG measures, customer satisfaction)?
Project Lifecycle
  • Have you managed a project through all phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and close?
  • List the projects you’ve managed from start to finish. Which was most successful, and which was least? What was missed?
  • Why is the Project Close phase important?
  • Can you share templates, plans, or lessons-learned repositories you created?
  • Have you written publications or reusable frameworks for other PMs?
Project Management Professionals Initial Questions
  • What type of projects have you managed? Were they product- or service-based projects?
  • What are your thoughts, including pros and cons, about managing projects virtually vs. in person?
  • Are there any differences in the project’s critical success factors or risk mitigation in a virtual environment?
  • Describe the nature, scope, duration, and budget of the largest project you managed.
  • Have you managed both product-based and service-based projects? What distinct challenges did you face in each?
  • Highlight one project you are most proud of.
  • What is the best or most useful feedback or advice you have received in your career?
  • What was the last course taken or certification acquired pertaining to project management?
  • (2025 update) Have you used AI-assisted PM tools (Asana Intelligence, ClickUp AI, Wrike, Monday AI)? How did they affect your work?
Soft Skills for Project Management Professionals

Communication

  • Tell me about a time you had to communicate a complex project update to non-technical stakeholders. How did you ensure clarity?
  • How do you adapt your communication style when addressing executives, technical teams, and external clients?
  • Have you used AI or digital tools (Teams AI recap, AI meeting notes, dashboards) to enhance communication? How do you validate accuracy?

Leadership & Influence

  • How do you gain buy-in from teams who are resistant to change?
  • Describe your leadership style. What feedback have you received from team members about your approach?
  • Can you share an example where you inspired a team under difficult circumstances (tight deadlines, shifting priorities)?

Collaboration & Team Building

  • Tell me about a time when cross-functional collaboration was critical to success. How did you foster cooperation?
  • How do you build trust and commitment in hybrid or fully remote teams?
  • Have you led any virtual team-building activities? Which ones worked best?

Adaptability & Problem-Solving

  • Describe a situation where a project plan changed suddenly due to external factors (budget cuts, new regulations, technology failures). How did you adapt?
  • How do you handle cascading delays when one deliverable affects multiple workstreams?
  • Share a time when you had to make a decision with incomplete information. What was your process?

Motivation & Engagement

  • How do you keep teams motivated during long or complex projects?
  • What do you do when a team member is visibly disengaged or unmotivated?
  • Share a strategy you’ve used to keep morale up in high-pressure phases.

Conflict Management

  • Tell me about a conflict between stakeholders or team members. How did you resolve it?
  • How do you balance competing demands when resources are limited?
  • Do you approach conflict differently in a virtual vs. in-person setting?

Coaching & Mentorship

  • Share an example of mentoring a junior team member. How did you help them grow?
  • How do you approach coaching when performance is below expectations?
  • What role does mentorship play in building strong project teams?

Negotiation & Stakeholder Influence

  • Share an example of a successful negotiation with a vendor, client, or stakeholder.
  • How do you handle situations where stakeholders demand scope changes without additional resources?
  • In your view, what’s the difference between negotiation and positional bargaining?
Stakeholder Management
  • What tools and techniques have you used to manage stakeholder expectations?
  • How have you overcome resistance?
  • What roles have stakeholders held when developing governance frameworks?
  • What is your communication style?
  • What communication styles do you find most effective with stakeholders? How does this differ in virtual vs. in-person environments?
Stakeholders
  • How do you manage stakeholder expectations?
  • How have you handled competing expectations?
  • How do you identify stakeholders early to avoid late recognition that could derail a project?
  • Tell me about a time a stakeholder would not approve a deliverable. How did you resolve it?
  • Have you used digital dashboards, AI-powered sentiment analysis, or stakeholder mapping tools to track engagement?

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