Top Interview Questions for IT Project Manager
An IT project manager is someone who is responsible for planning, organizing, allocating resources for, budgeting, and successfully executing organizations’ specific IT goals.
According to the Project Management Institute, it is expected that there will be 22 million new project management job openings through 2027.
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Hard Skills
Use these questions to identify a candidate’s technical knowledge and abilities
Soft Skills
Use these questions to assess a candidate’s personality traits and cognitive skills
What to look for while interviewing for an IT Project Manager?
Since the required skills for an IT project manager require knowledge of negotiations and budget management among others. Therefore, look for a candidate who has knowledge of all these.
Here are some of the in-demand skills for an IT Project Manager
Role-specific skills to look for: Negotiation, relevant technical skills, project planning, delegating, and budget management.
Soft skills to look in communication, risk management, logical reasoning, team leadership, and negotiating.
Pro Tip: Always screen before your interview. Use Online Assessment to screen applicants for an IT project manager position before blocking your time for an in-person interview.
Questions to ask while interviewing an IT Project Manager
We have compiled a set of questions with the help of 70+ hiring managers at different organizations.
Top Role-based interview questions for an IT Project Manager
What steps do you take to recommend new software for an organization as an IT Manager?
Purpose of this interview question:
As it is crucial a candidate can recommend new software if the current installation is outdated, hence this question is designed to test the same skills.
What to listen for:
Top candidates would show evidence of experience in evaluating IT systems and services, and understanding of when upgrades are feasible.
How would you persuade the purchase of new software for the company?
Purpose of this interview question:
This question can be asked to an IT manager to understand the technological needs of a company and seek out resources to help address those needs.
What to listen for:
- Top candidates would talk about their experiences in evaluating systems and understanding the company’s network and software needs.
What is the importance of maintaining a requirement traceability matrix?
Purpose of this interview question:
Documentation is very crucial to the job role of a project manager, hence this question can be asked how much a candidate knows about the same.
What to listen for:
- Listen for the specific terms which explain why a requirement traceability matrix is important.
How to screen IT Project Manager for soft skills?
Why do you want to work at our company as an IT project manager?
Purpose of this interview question:
This question is designed to know what kind of information does the candidate has about your company culture and what has excited them to join your organization.
What to listen for:
- Listen for the detail about what has driven the candidate to work for your organization.
Do you enjoy working in a team or alone?
Purpose of this interview question:
This question is designed to understand if the candidate is a team player or loner.
What to listen for:
- An ideal candidate should be able to work in both situations.
What are your salary expectations?
Purpose of this interview question:
This question is helps in understanding what the market is currently paying for certain qualifications, experience, and skills.
What to listen for:
- Top candidates would give the range of salary they expect.
Start Optimizing your IT Project Manager Hiring today
Find and hire talent with confidence. If your candidate doesn’t know the answer to the above questions and you’re hiring for an IT Project Manager position, then they’re probably not a great fit.
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