You will be asked questions about your people skills, technical skills, and how you would handle certain situations in a project manager interview. Senior executives and HR managers recognize project management as indispensable to business success. They know that skilled and credentialed project managers are among their most valuable resources.
The Project Management Institute reports in a survey that in the U. S. , over $122 million gets wasted for every $1 billion invested due to poor project performance. It’s not easy to hire certified project managers, and candidates are looked at in a number of different ways. What kind of person will fit in with the organization’s culture? How well will they work with others on the team and lead them? Will they meet the project goals on time?
Getting through an interview successfully is both an art and a science. Since a lot is unknown, it’s best to focus on key areas or competencies and make sure you answer the interview questions correctly based on those. This will help you get hired. The video below will show you some of the most common questions that project managers are asked. The following is a list of the most common interview questions and how you should answer them.
Landing a job as a software development project manager can be challenging. You’ll need to demonstrate a mix of technical expertise, leadership abilities, and business acumen. The interview questions will put all those skills to the test.
To help you prepare and boost your confidence, here are the most common and critical software development project manager interview questions, along with suggestions for crafting winning answers:
Commonly Asked Introductory Questions
The interview will likely kick off with a few broad questions aimed at getting to know you and your background
Tell me about yourself.
The interviewer wants a quick summary of your career journey and capabilities. Focus on your PM experience, training, certifications, skills, achievements, and how they make you a great fit for this role.
What interested you in this software development PM position?
Highlight aspects of the role that appeals to you – the company, technologies, team, projects, etc. Show your enthusiasm and passion for PM work.
Why do you want to leave your current job?
If currently employed, give a positive, diplomatic response. Mention seeking new challenges, growth opportunities, or a better culture fit. Avoid badmouthing your current employer.
What are your salary expectations?
Research typical pay for software dev PM roles at this company’s level. Give a range based on your experience and qualifications. Say you’re open to negotiation.
Questions About Your PM Experience
Hiring managers will probe into your specific job experiences and achievements:
What PM methodologies are you familiar with?
Discuss your expertise with Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, etc. Give examples of projects where you successfully applied these.
Tell me about the most complex project you managed. What were the challenges?
Pick a technically advanced project with a large, distributed team. Share obstacles faced and how your PM skills overcame them. Demonstrate analytical abilities.
Describe a time you managed multiple projects simultaneously. How did you prioritize?
Prove you can balance priorities and allocate resources wisely. Share any productivity or scheduling tools you used.
How have you handled a situation where project requirements changed?
Showcase adaptability. Discuss getting stakeholder alignment, updating plans, and keeping the team nimble to adjust to new specs.
What metrics did you track on your past projects? How did you report on them?
Share quantitative performance metrics you monitored like budget, schedule, quality, risk, customer satisfaction. Discuss PM tools used to track and communicate metrics.
Leadership and Team Management Questions
People skills are vital for any PM. Expect questions like:
How would you describe your management style?
Show you lead democratically, empower team members, listen to ideas, and foster collaboration. But also that you can make firm decisions when needed.
What methods do you use to motivate your team?
Share tactics like setting clear goals, recognizing achievements, supporting growth opportunities, and creating a positive environment.
How do you handle underperforming team members?
Explain your process for constructive feedback, coaching/training, and setting improvement goals. If issues persist, you make tough calls but act fairly.
Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict between team members. What was the outcome?
Present a real scenario where your mediation and communication skills resolved a dispute. Share the positive end results.
How have you mentored junior project managers or team members?
Discuss acting as a role model, teaching PM methodologies, reviewing their work, and providing growth opportunities.
Questions About Technical and Business Skills
You’ll need to demonstrate both strong tech chops and business sense:
What project management tools are you proficient with? Do you have a preferred toolset?
Highlight tools you have expertise in – Asana, Trello, Jira, MS Project, etc. Mention your preferred platform but openness to learning the company’s stack.
What experience do you have with software development methodologies like Agile, Scrum, and DevOps?
Discuss your hands-on experience driving efficient software builds using continuous development approaches.
How do you ensure software projects meet business objectives and ROI targets?
Share how you align projects with strategic goals, measure against targets, course-correct if needed, and provide executive visibility.
Tell me about a time you had to manage a fixed budget on a project. How did you control costs?
Present a case where smart budget oversight kept spending on track without sacrificing output or quality.
Have you led any process improvement initiatives? What results did you achieve?
Share examples of analyzing processes, identifying inefficiencies, and driving changes that boosted productivity or cut costs. Quantify the benefits.
Questions About Your PM Skills
You’ll need to demonstrate the full range of project management skills:
How do you get buy-in from stakeholders on projects?
Discuss tools like executive presentations, requirement sessions, and consistent communication to get alignment.
What methods do you use to define requirements with stakeholders?
Highlight experience with interviews, surveys, workshops, prototyping, use cases, and requirements management tools to capture needs.
Explain your process for creating a detailed project plan.
Walk through assembling a comprehensive plan including scoping, scheduling, budgeting, risk analysis, resource planning, and monitoring methodology.
What key risks do you look out for on a software development project?
Discuss risks like unclear requirements, resource gaps, technical hurdles, scope creep, budget overruns. Share risk mitigation tactics used.
How do you estimate project timelines and effort?
Discuss using techniques like past data, Three Point estimating, and project management software to build accurate estimates.
What metrics would you track regularly to monitor project health?
Share important metrics you’d monitor like schedule, budget, resource allocation, productivity, quality, customer satisfaction. Discuss reporting processes.
Behavioral Questions
Expect scenarios about challenges to uncover your judgment, values, and tendencies:
Tell me about a time you had to push back a timeline or reduce project scope. How did you handle it?
Show calm, focused problem-solving. Align stakeholders and demonstrate effective change management.
Describe a high-pressure situation on a past project. How did you stay composed?
Prove you remain steady in crises. Share your process of decisive action, cool-headed decisions, and motivating the team.
Tell me about a time you had to say no to additional feature requests due to time/budget constraints. How was it received?
Show you can stick to scope commitments through clear, but diplomatic communication. Share eventual acceptance of the decision.
Have you ever made a bad judgment call on a project that led to issues? How did you address it?
Be honest if you have an example. Discuss being accountable, applying lessons learned, and focusing the team on recovery.
Questions to Ask the Interviewer
When given the opportunity, ask smart questions that show your interest and paint you as a thoughtful candidate:
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How does the organization approach PM training and mentoring?
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What PM methodology and tools does your team use?
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How are PMs evaluated and recognized for achievements here?
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What are some of the biggest upcoming projects I’d lead here?
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What are the next steps in the interview process?
By prepping responses that highlight your experience, leadership abilities, technical expertise, and management style, you’ll demonstrate you have what it takes to excel as a software development project manager. Use these common interview questions as a guide for telling compelling stories and making your skills shine. With some practice and a winning attitude, you’ll be ready to wow hiring managers and land the perfect PM role.
Can you briefly tell us about the last project you worked on?
The interviewer is looking for certain things in your answer to figure out how senior you are, what kinds of projects you’ve worked on, how you work, how big of a team you’ve led, and other things.
Start by mentioning the crucial points of the project. Ensure to include the team size, goal, deliverables and the approach used to complete it. Elaborate on the result by using some key statistics and metrics attained by the end of it. It is good to answer honestly and mention things that went well and anything you learned.
6 What details should a project plan include?
The project prepares the project plan. It includes details about:
- Project execution
- Project monitoring
- Project completion
- Scope
- Cost
- Estimates
- Budget
- Schedule
PROJECT MANAGER Interview Questions & ANSWERS! (How to PASS a Project Management Job Interview!)
FAQ
What does a project manager do in software development?
What is project manager role in SDLC?
How do you answer a software development interview question?
By asking this question, the interviewer is looking to uncover your experience in software development and the successes you’ve had in the past. How to Answer: Start by describing any software development projects you’ve managed in the past, and be sure to include details about your role and the project’s success.
What questions are asked during a software project manager interview?
When pursuing a software project manager position, interviewers may ask unexpected questions. They may ask you detailed questions regarding your career, experience, goals or personal interests. Understanding what questions you may encounter during a software project manager interview can help you prepare effective answers.
What did a software project manager experience teach you?
The experience taught me the importance of making informed decisions and of considering all aspects of a situation before making a call.” Common Software Project Manager interview questions, how to answer them, and sample answers from a certified career coach.
How do I prepare for a software development project manager interview?
As you’re gearing up for your interview as a Software Development Project Manager, it’s essential to prepare yourself to articulate not only your technical expertise but also your leadership style and strategic planning abilities.
