The best interview process for a Project Manager or Programme Manager

An interview is rarely a nice place to be. Yes- it gives you the opportunity to showcase your talents, ability and for some a sense of enjoyment which puts all eyes on you. Yet for others, the whole process can be very stressful and does it really give the best “test” of the skills required for a PM? The hours of preparation, second guessing the types of questions, searching linked in for research and background on the panel. Then you get to run through your CV and get assessed against a list of competency scenarios and a scoring mechanism, which in some cases can be quite a memory test. It always feels like there is a model answer and you are being shaped up to fit into that box. 

I have always found the best interviews, making me feel able to express myself fully and leave feeling like I have given a decent account of myself have been where the environment is relaxed and actually doesn’t make you feel “on trial” it is more an open and two way discussion on skills and experience, where personality and your fit into the organisations are most important. The delivery elements are secondary in a lot of cases, where relationship building, people skills and communication is critical to get the job done. Being able to deliver something from A to B is important, of course, but the people skills and interactions are the key.

People Change Projects.