PM Phone Interview Questions and Answers, what to say and what not to say!
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
PM Phone Interview Questions and Answers, what to say and what not to say! Saving Changes...
Sort By:
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
#1 Would you answer the question about Salary Expectations? Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
#2 Why are you leaving your job? Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Telephone interviews are often conducted by employers in the initial interview round of the hiring process, this type of interview allows an employer to screen candidates on the candidates experience, qualifications, and salary expectations pertaining to the position and the company. The telephone interview saves the employers' time and eliminates candidates that are unlikely to meet the company’s expectations.[1] Employers tend to perform telephone interviews as a structured interview.[2] The questions are custom tailored to meet the position in question. With the telephone interview there may not be direct contact between the employer and employee, however, the expectations are still there. Telephone interviews are scheduled and questions are generally prepared in advance, similar to the way other interviews are conducted. Another common reason a company looks to the telephone interview is that these interviews can be conducted on-the-fly. The interviewer does not have to assign company resources to the phone interview.[citation needed] It is a cost-effective method to short-list candidates for the position being interviewed for.[3]
Reporters conduct a telephone interviews as part of investigative journalism or a live broadcast.
The telephone interview allows both interviewee and interviewer to be in a more relaxed state.[citation needed] The interviewer can use the relaxed state to better gauge the interviewee, and pick up on things that may be disguised during the more formal interview process.
John DuncanRetired| RetiredLebanon, Tn, United States
Good questions. :) For the first one, salary expectations, the general guideline is to hold off on that until later in the process. An early answer could be phrased along the lines of "I'm looking for something in the usual range for project managers in this field, with considerations for cost of living in this area, and any other benefits that might be included. I would be happy to discuss this in more detail later, if we both feel we are a good fit." That could be embellished a bit, up or down, depending on the individual's PM experience level that he/she brings to the table. Saving Changes...
John DuncanRetired| RetiredLebanon, Tn, United States
For the second question, "why are you leaving", of course it's never a good idea to talk negatively about your current/past employer, even if it was a negative experience. Generally, the situation can be phrased as: "I'm looking for more challenge and responsibility" "I really want to work in the (part of the country, industry, whatever it is that attracts you to this company)" "The company is downsizing" "There is a personality conflict between me and my manager, and we've been trying to work through it, but I realize it's one of those things that happens sometimes, and I think the best thing is for me to find another position."
That covers a wide range of scenarios... Saving Changes...
It really is a challenge to answer these 2 questions.The truth is that you cannot satisfy every employer that you tried to work for. Finally, you will find one that matches you, vice versa, you are the person that the employer is looking for.
...
1 reply by George Lewis
Jul 31, 2018 3:14 AM
George Lewis
...
Interesting...
Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Jul 31, 2018 2:57 AM
Replying to Mengshi Xu
...
It really is a challenge to answer these 2 questions.The truth is that you cannot satisfy every employer that you tried to work for. Finally, you will find one that matches you, vice versa, you are the person that the employer is looking for.
HR, recruiters or a hiring manager use phone interviews to quickly cull outliers. As such, not providing some specifics to the salary question might move you to the rejection pile as they might not want to go down the process with you only to find that your expectations don't match their funding ability. If you have done your home work, you can usually get a reasonable idea for salaries in advance of the call so you'd know if you are in the ballpark or not.
I agree with John that you should answer the why you are leaving question honestly and professionally but no harm in positioning your situation in a positive light no matter how negative your departure was.
A question I've asked and been asked a few times is "Why YOU?" - as they likely have received a hundred plus applications, why should they invest their time in getting to know you better?
Kiron Saving Changes...
Meade RubensteinPM III| IT Project GuideSparta, Nj, United States
Why would you handle/answer questions any differently between a phone interview and face-to-face interview? The only difference I see is that you need to be more 'animated' and descriptive in your answer on the phone to ensure that you get your point across. I've always felt that the interview process is more about ensuring base ability and having an 'acceptable' personality for the people/team that you are interviewing with and will be working with. Saving Changes...
