Program Coordinator

I believe that learning should be an ongoing process even after you have entered into your career. Therefore, I constantly seek knowledge, whether it be in magazines or business articles online. I also attend various management workshops when possible to make sure I keep my skills sharp.

“My past boss and I got along very well. We were always on the same page with where the business was going. We shared a lot about our personal lives and formed a strong bond.”

Ever since my first paper route at age 10 I’ve been doing something to keep myself busy and earn money. Back then, it was obviously about earning some spending money. What I didn’t realize was that I was actually starting the journey of establishing what I liked to do and how I fit in to the grand scheme of things. I then worked as a junior computer tech in my last 2 summers of high school. It was here that I discovered what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college to get my degree in computer sciences, and I have been working around technology ever since.

The first thing I do when making a plan for a said project is to create a feasibility study. The next step is to plan how a project will progress – this includes setting targets and milestones. Distributing responsibilities and allocating resources is next, followed by taking measures to ensure that deadlines are met.

I maintain a digital bulletin board at my office which is kept updated at all times by my secretary. Team members have a look at it every day and in this manner the whole team is kept informed regarding the status of the project.

Budget management, discrepancy balancing, timeline development and implementation are the core accounting and administrative tasks a project manager needs to master

There are a few different skills that I feel contribute to my ability to fulfill this position. While working in my current and previous positions, I have worked to strengthen my communication abilities. Not only am I able to properly convey points to various people in ways in which they can understand, but I also realize the importance of listening to others for comprehension, so that my words may be most effective. I believe that my strong organization, marketing and administrative skills also aid me in my endeavors with this position.

I am well versed in Oracle, EBS and SalesForce. I am a tech savvy and computer friendly person and can adapt to any software preferred by the company or client

I have been in the field for a while now and most commonly needed vendors are on my personal contract panel. I have never had clearance issues with vendors since being a professional, I never commit or deliver any service on credit

Even if you think there is no one single skill that is the most important, name just one.

The interviewer simply wants to see how you think and express yourself. So be short and to the point. An example of one important skill for a project coordinator is multi-tasking, being able to juggle many tasks simultaneously. Or you can talk about teamwork since a coordinator must be able to cooperate with many teams at once and ensure coordinated action between them.

Avoid making negative remarks about your past or present manager, your fellow employees, or the company you are working for – even if they are true!

Don’t even hint at the fact that you hated your manger and avoid sarcastic remarks. Remember, the interviewer does not know your previous manager or fellow employees.

Program coordinator’s have to play important roles in a team or group. Your ability in setting relationships with other team members should be appeared in your interview answers and you should mention your contribution into the success of the team.

Project management has three main phases. The preliminary phase involves understanding the project requirements after meeting with the clients and setting a budget. The second phase is that of planning and time line development and the final phase involves implementation of the plan

If, for example, you have worked in a development company, an obvious example is working closely with the development team to define goals, coordinate resources, solve conflicts, and minimize risks. Project coordinators direct resources and are thus connected to resource managers and the procurement. They work to satisfy quality, deadlines, and budget limitations, and might also work closely with specialists like quality engineers.

Project coordination is complex work. There are deadlines to meet and many people to liaise with during any given work day. Typically, a work day is characterized by both uncertainty and an element of surprise.

Don’t confess to any work-related weaknesses. The interview is simply trying to find out where you feel that you need improvement, but don’t confess to having any weaknesses. Instead, tell them of a weakness that is actually a strength. Keep your answer very short and to the point.

Through my previous positions I have cultivated strong project and personnel management skills. I have managed myself and various teams in the completion of various projects and marketing campaigns. I understand the importance of organization, proper administration and teamwork to the success of any project, and those are things that I strive to implement in each project I lead. I also have received training in and have strong experience with negotiations and issue resolution, and I utilize this knowledge, as well as my other skills, to be an effective manager.

Make sure you don’t place blame on you or your co-workers because it will just be your opinion and that’s not what the interviewer is looking for. Your answer has no bearing on whether you will get the job or not. Think of a failure that happened early on in your career and discuss how you have bettered yourself since.

Describe a project you worked on and what the expected outcome was. Then explain what really happened and that you learned from that experience. This takes what is expected to be a negative answer and turns it around into a positive one.

Sometimes, I feel I am too much of a perfectionist. I am not pleased by things, themes, and arrangements easily and this trait burdens me at times more than the project would if my standards of work were in the same plane with the client’s expectations which are almost always less than what I expect of the project