Program Manager Skills Interview
Author:
Alycia Damp, PhD IRHRA Program Manager interview assessing key skills required for success. We've also included a few motivation and values questions to help you make the best decisions about your candidates.
Focus area:
Question
1
Why are you interested in making a career move to our company as Program Manager? How do you see this opportunity within the context of your career?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate exhibits fit and motivation to join the company
Explore tips
- Is seeking an opportunity to grow by applying and developing multiple skills
- Wants to make a defined impact on others and the organization’s success
- Is motivated to add value to the company's culture and work environment
- Is passionate when discussing how this connects with their strengths/interests
- Exhibits awareness of the role expectations and the organizational context
Question
2
Describe a time you created a strategy/project/program for a team or an organization to help the business achieve its objectives. What was the strategy and how did you implement it?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to implement strategic changes
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- Was conscious of aligning work to overarching organizational goals
- Educated and advised employees on the strategic plan
- Identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to success
- Translated vision into initiatives with actionable items and a delivery schedule
- Acknowledged what would work and what wouldn't based on organizational context
Question
3
If you joined our company and were asked to lead a strategic project, how would you identify and engage the relevant stakeholders in the project planning process?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to understand company interdependencies and manage stakeholder involvement
Explore tips
- Understands inter-relationships between company departments in your industry
- Gives example of identifying specific stakeholders in a given business scenario
- Suggests structured approach for consulting and managing stakeholder involvement
- Considers challenges associated with involving multiple stakeholders
- Shares best practices for identifying and consulting stakeholders
Question
4
Tell me about a project/program you managed where multiple teams were involved. What did you do to help the teams connect and work synchronously?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to manage projects across multiple teams
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- Explains the main project objectives and the specific teams involved
- Discusses their challenges (e.g. different priorities, scheduling, etc.)
- Elaborates on their personal contributions and how they overcame challenges
- Mentions results and how they measured success
- Highlights key learnings and takeaways
Question
5
Imagine you are working with a newly formed team during the initial stages of a project/program. How would you go about building trust and motivation among team members to achieve the common project/program goals?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to build trust and motivation within a team
Explore tips
- Would openly discuss communication expectations (e.g. open-door policies)
- Would ensure all team members understand their roles and the roles of others
- Emphasizes empathy and respect for diversity and differing opinions
- Would create clear mechanisms for providing and receiving feedback
- Would reinforce the team's common goal (e.g. performance)
Question
6
Tell me about a time you proposed a new process/idea for a project but it was met with some resistance from relevant stakeholders (e.g. client, manager, teammates). How did you advocate for your idea, and what was the outcome?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to promote ideas to make an impact on projects/the organization
Explore tips
- Uses data-driven insights to promote ideas
- Presents ideas in an innovative and accessible way to convince stakeholders
- Solicits feedback and/or input on their idea from others
- Considers the other's point of view to tailor the delivery of their ideas
- Demonstrates how the idea will benefit the client/project/organization
Question
7
Imagine you are in a situation that requires you to influence people that do not report to you (e.g. more senior colleague/senior leadership). How would you gain credibility and support for your goals?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to gain support from others to execute their ideas and achieve goals
Explore tips
- Strategically communicates goals using evidence to support their claims
- Acknowledges the goals of others and importance for building common ground
- Is confident advocating for their ideas/goals to those more senior to them
- Solicits feedback from stakeholders to show a collaborative attitude
- Discusses communicating and justifying the roadmap (goals, priorities, etc.)
Question
8
Tell me about a time you experienced a dysfunction within a team. How did it impact the work and what steps did you take to overcome it?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to manage dysfunctions within a team
Explore tips
- Explains the situation and clearly describes the dysfunction
- Describes the factors that led to the dysfunction within the team
- Discusses specific actions they took to address the dysfunction
- Explains the effectiveness of their actions and the outcome
- Explains how it impacted the project and how to prevent it in the future
Question
9
Imagine you're managing a program and encounter a conflict between two important stakeholders. They are disagreeing about how to prioritize the program's initiatives. How would you resolve the conflict between them?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to manage conflicts between stakeholders
Explore tips
- Notes the importance of managing stakeholder expectations in the planning stage
- Prioritizes stakeholder opinions by business goals, program needs and influence
- Suggests the stakeholders communicate to understand each other's perspectives
- Takes authority to make decisions and negotiate as appropriate
- Considers the implications of conflict on the program and responds accordingly
Question
10
Tell me about a major challenge you have faced in the past when managing program/project resources? How did you handle it and what was the outcome?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to overcome challenges when managing program resources
Explore tips
- Clearly explains the situation and what caused the difficulties (e.g. scarcity)
- Describes specific actions they took to manage the resource problem
- Discusses the implications of the issue on the program/project/company
- Explains how their actions resolved the issue
- Discusses learnings and takeaways for managing resources in the future
Question
11
Imagine a project/program you are managing requires additional resources and has unexpected expenses but has already exceeded its budget. What would you do?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to effectively manage budget constraints and demands during projects
Explore tips
- Suggests reassessing spending plan and key objectives to decide best strategy
- Considers reducing project scope/time or identifying lower-cost resources
- Analyzes whether certain resources can be reallocated based on priorities
- Suggests approaching appropriate stakeholders to revise the budget if necessary
- Relies on contingency reserve to allow flexibility/reduce risk of budget overrun
Question
12
Imagine a project is due to launch in six weeks, but you sense that the timeline is a risk and it won't likely be completed by then. How would you address this timeline issue, and why?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to identify risks and manage solutions to complete the project
Explore tips
- Discusses communicating the risk to the team/leadership and seeking support
- Identifies areas that pose the biggest risk and suggests mitigation strategies
- Discusses exploring the trade-offs of pushing back the timeline
- Considers reallocating resources (e.g. to increase/decrease capacity)
- Discusses documenting changes/updates and closely monitoring progress
Question
13
Describe a time you noticed a problem when you were analyzing data for a project/program. What was the problem and what steps did you take to overcome it?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to overcome problems with data analysis
Explore tips
- Clearly describes the situation and how they identified the problem
- Considers why the problem occurred and the implications it had on the analysis
- Articulates the potential impact of the problem if it had been left unresolved
- Explains how they addressed the problem/proposed a solution
- Discusses key learnings and takeaways for preventing the problem in the future
Question
14
Based on your past work history and professional experience, in what type of work environment were you the happiest and most productive?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate shares preferences for organizational culture and workstyle aligned with your company
Explore tips
- Discusses attributes that align with your organization
- References different organizational factors (people, place, work, etc.)
- Highlights the values that shaped the environment/culture
- Shares a story from past experience to support their claims
- Justifies why it made them happy and productive
Question
15
What is one thing you wish I had asked you in our conversation today?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate displays self-awareness of unique strengths and value-add
Explore tips
- Gives a response that is relevant to the role in question
- Justifies their suggestion by explaining their value-add
- Exhibits strengths that were not previously covered
- Further demonstrates their value-add and competitiveness as a candidate
