Senior Project Officer

Hopefully if you're applying for this position you have bags of related experience, and if that's the case you should mention it all. But if you're switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it's matching up. That's when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.

Good because: This will help you work out if they are happy to be honest and tell you about a time that something went wrong. This shows their capacity to learn from mistakes and how they deal with information overload. Delegating work packages is key to project work and you'll want to hire someone who understands that.

Bad response: "I never delegate-it's easier to do it all myself."

Again, companies want to hire people who are passionate about the job, so you should have a great answer about why you want the position. (And if you don't? You probably should apply elsewhere.)

First, identify a couple of key factors that make the role a great fit for you (e.g., I love customer support because I love the constant human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from helping someone solve a problem"), then share why you love the company (e.g., I've always been passionate about education, and I think you guys are doing great things, so I want to be a part of it).

Good because: This gives you an indication of how they do their job. Someone who spends all day at the PC may suit your environment, or you might be looking for a project manager who gets out and visits clients most days of the week. Remember that they might be prepared to do something other than what they do now, so if you hear something that doesn't fit with the post you are recruiting for, don't rule them out before exploring this further.

Bad response: "Facebook."

Candidates without specific examples often do not seem credible. However, the example shared should be fairly inconsequential, unintentional, and a learned lesson should be gleaned from it. Moving ahead without group assistance while assigned to a group project meant to be collaborative is a good example.

Good because: It will show you what's important to them at work: green credentials, career progression, work/life balance, working for a big brand etc. It will also tell you if they are actively job hunting or whether they saw your ad and couldn't resist (either is fine).

Bad response: "Salary, expense policy and the chance to travel abroad."

Rarely is an inexperienced person taken in as a project manager. Any project manager would have at least two or three years of experience either as an employee or as a project manager. Therefore, this is one of the basic questions asked. Make sure that you give a brief and concise answer to this question, without going too much into the details. Also, make sure that everything you say as an answer to this question is factual.

Good because: It's worth probing the technical skills of candidates. Can they talk knowledgably about fishbone diagrams, De Bono's thinking hats, role play? Branch out to talk about the last project issue they resolved with creative thinking.

Bad response: "I tend to solve problems myself without involving the team."

Apart from the portfolio, everyone has some project or aspect of their jobs that they hold close to their heart. This is the time to inform the interviewer about what your favorite project was and why. Of course, you have to make sure that you do not go on a ramble and genuinely discuss some of your favorite projects.

No job is without its disappointments. The disappointments can be anything, from an employee who left for personal reasons or the project that you did not bag because of the financials involved.

Make sure that you provide a quick and factual answer for this question.

Other than that, the questions may also contain information about which business management tools, like SAP, ERP, BANN, etc have you worked with.

The interviewer could be asking you this question for a number of reasons.

Obviously, the salary is an important factor to your interest in this job, but it should not be the overriding reason for your interest. A good answer to this question is, The salary was very attractive, but the job itself is what was most attractive to me.

Good because: There are always bits of jobs we don't like, but project managers typically work on the projects that they are assigned. It's fine to have preferences, but you're looking for someone who can respond to business needs even if that isn't their top choice of project.

Bad response: "I like to choose the projects I work on, and I only really want to do the digital media ones. That's OK, isn't it?"

Every project manager is aware of the risk factors of any project. As a project manager, how did you monitor these risks during the project life cycle?

Good because: It will show you their priorities and whether they have actually thought about what a project manager does. It will also demonstrate whether they are a good cultural fit for your team. If you have a strong focus on process and they think the most important thing is to be flexible and adapt processes as you go, then you probably won't get on.

Bad response: "Well, it's mainly admin, isn't it?"

Another question that is commonly asked, due to the ever increasing boundaries of the business, is whether you have ever outsourcing works to subcontractors or with firms located in a country other than yours.

The interviewer would also be interested in knowing whether you were responsible for selecting the vendors and suppliers for your project.