At the close of most interviews the interviewee is given the opportunity to ask questions. What are some good questions that help you to decide if you really want to work for that employer?
One of my favorites is: " How would you gauge the maturity of project management in your organization?" Saving Changes...
"What are some of the challenges you're facing in your current projects?"
It's usually regarded by interviewers as favorable, since PM's are generally expected to solve a company's problems. It's also an opportunity to delve into the causes of the challenges the interviewer names. If the company is dysfunctional, you might be able to detect this in your followup questions, and so avoid joining a bad situation.
Eric, thanks so much for getting me started on this. It was your discussion on classic interview questions that made me think of doing this.
Your Awesome!! :-) Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
May 12, 2017 7:33 AM
Replying to Susan Reilly
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Thank you all again for sharing!
I sit on a Board of Visitors for a Computer Science Department at a local university. We try to help the students prepare to enter the workforce through a variety of activities. I am the only person on the board who at this time does not work in a tech environment so when we do mock interviews I like to help the students with the questions that are more behavioral based and try to get them to look at their soft skills and broaden the scope of their horizon, beyond their technical skills. Many times I find they are unable to really answer the questions. So this discussion, I started and the answers provided are really very helpful to myself and will be to the students. Several of the students mentioned that I was a tough interview, but they appreciated the information gained since in the ensuing years they were able to really feel more prepared for an interview.
So thank you again! Know that you are helping to mentor young college graduates.
Thanks for the additional context, Susan. I'm happy to be a part of assisting others career growth. Saving Changes...
"What are some of the immediate needs and expectations on filling this role." - Essentially, you want to find out what the gaps are right now, what is the gap this role is to fill, then you can match/map your past accomplishments and/or skills to that need.
An interview should be a conversation, discussion, not an interrogation. The interview is 2-sided. The goal is to find a match.
Thanks Andrew! Saving Changes...
David HenryImplementation Project Manager| ExteNet SystemsLas Vegas, Nv, United States
It is best to ask if the position is new. If it is not new, ask why the position was vacated. I also like to ask to speak to a few of the employees that would be peers. Ask what the 30,60, & 90 day expectations are for the position. Be specific about the timeline, if they cannot answer with specifics and cannot suggest who can answer, you might not want to take the position. At each interview with the same company, ask what the company vision is. If you do not get the same answer (or no answer) from each person you interview with, then you might not want to work there. The HR people are typically required to cite the company vision, but the further you get from the top or HR it might get blurred. Just something to think about. Saving Changes...
Thank you to all new contributors. Saving Changes...
Edward DanielsProject Manager| IndependentGlen Burnie, Md, United States
Depending on experience level required for the job; i tend to ask
1. Will the selected candidate be replacing someone who is leaving the company?
This will shed light on if there will be access to training from someone who is doing the job now. Otherwise if it is a new position, i ask about available training or mentoring.
2. What are some of the expectations for the new hire (90 days, 6 months or 1 year).
3. For contract positions, i don't bother with growth potential of the position. Otherwise, i ask about upward mobility for the selected candidate.
4. I ask about organization culture. (I say something along the lines of, I don't want to come in over-dressed as I may not have an opportunity to make a good first impression).
5. Never ask about compensation or benefits or flex time.
6. For instance, in a more senior IT interview, i ask about the company's strategic direction towards cybersecurity (only if they are comfortable discussing it). If it's training, you switch it up.
7. For PM roles, i ask about team interactions, reporting expectations, conflict management (i usually plug in how awesome i am at conflict resolution and whatnot). Saving Changes...
Abu Haidar Mohammad GhaniAssistant General Manager, Project Management and Customer Support| Vintage ITDhaka, Bangladesh
all the questions are very good. Saving Changes...
