Cracking the Project Management Interview

Jim Keogh

• Editore: De Gruyter
• Anno: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781501505928
• Edizione: 1
• Argomento: Betriebswirtschaft
• Categoria: Informationsmanagement

Cracking the Project Manager Interview is designed to help you land your ideal project management job. The book's unique two-part organization helps you through the job application process, the interviewing process, job training, and everything in between! In Part I you will learn the ins and outs of the interviewing process: how to get your application noticed, how to prepare for the interview, how to uncover hints in an interviewer's questions, and more. Part II is an extensive review of what you need to know in order to ensure success in your interview. This section includes an overview of fundamental of project management and techniques, providing a quick review for those about to go into an interview, and for those considering project management as a profession, it is a great resource to know what you will need to learn.

The book provides practice interview questions and solutions, so readers can go into their interviews confidently. In addition to interview tips and tricks, readers will learn how to sell their value and determine if they fit within a specific organization. Project managers will be given an overview of the hiring process, a detailed walk-through of the various project manager careers available to them, and all the information necessary to identify and pursue their ideal career.

Chapter 1 The Project Manager Interview Process

Looking for a job as a project manager is challenging, whether you are looking for your first entry into project management or an experienced project manager seeking to move on to hopefully a better opportunity. The organization is looking for a competent project manager to join their team and manage their projects. You might be competent and want to manage their projects. However, there are hurdles you must jump through to let the organization know that you are the candidate for the job. There is no magic wand that can be waved that will lead you over the hurdles. There is no crystal ball that will tell you the words and the right moves to get you the job. However, understanding the project manager interview process gives you insights into developing your own strategies for getting noticed and jumping over the interviewing hurdles.

How Project Manager Jobs Are Created

Traditionally, there are three reasons an organization creates a project manager position. The most common reason is the need to manage projects as a result of a project manager leaving the organization or transferring to another position within the organization. Another reason is growth of the organization into areas that are not currently provided by the organization. The organization increases the number of project managers to manage projects that help the organization grow. A third reason to hire new project managers is to ensure there is a pool of project managers in the future. Although executives typically focus on current staffing needs and needs for staffing in the near future, they realize that there is a sizable group of senior project managers who are nearing or beyond retirement age that may leave a relatively large gap in the workforce if they retire. Executives know they must invest in new project managers to fill that gap.

You may not care how the project manager’s job opportunity came about—you simply need a job. However, you should care because the reason the position was created may provide a clue as to whether or not you should accept the position if it is offered to you. If the position was opened because the project manager transferred or was promoted, then there are opportunities for advancement within the organization. That’s a good thing. If the current project manager left the organization, then you probably want to explore the reason for the departure. The work environment may have been unbearable or there were few or no opportunities to move around the organization.

Project Management Institute, PMBOK and the PMP Certification

The Project Management Institute creates standards that can be used across industries that can be used to teach people basic project management skills useful in a wide array of businesses. They essentially create the curriculum, train for it and have created a 700+ page book, the PMBOK Guide, that serves as a reference for the “standard.” Most importantly, they provide the project management professional certification, the PMP, that 900,000 people in 210 countries and territories around the world have passed. Having this standard ensures a level of professionalism that is well known around the world. There are hundreds of books, videos and training courses around the world to teach the methods decided upon by a group of experts on project. management. Gaining the PMP requires study so that you know the range of possible questions that may be asked and so it requires a time and cost commitment that make the certification worth having. Many job descriptions list a PMP certification as a requirement. Certainly, if you are in a crowded job market and are new to project management, then a PMP can boost your chances of landing a job as a “project management practitioner.”

The PMP certification, at this writing, is being revised for release by the time this book is released in very late 2019. The PMI has done extensive research into the issues surrounding project management and decided that a significant overhaul of their exam content was in order. As a result, they warn that the current sixth edition of PMBOK has significant variation from the new outline. The Exam Content Outline is presented upon accessing the PMI website. Its focus will be on People (42% of questions), 50% on Process, and 8% on Business Environment. A look at the Exam Content Outline would be wise for any applicant for a job in project management. They further say that they will split attention to agile project management 50–50 with predictive project management. If you are an existing PMP or in training to become one or simply looking for a project management job, looking into the changes is worth your time if you are looking for work.

The Project Manager’s Job Description

The breadth of categories of project manager jobs is too broad to list in any book. It is safe to say that not all project manager jobs are the same, which makes it challenging for executives and project managers to find the right match for a project manager’s position. The initial challenge is to describe the position in writing. The job description typically has at least two divisions: boilerplate and specific requirements for the actual position. Boilerplate is part of the job description that appears in all job descriptions for the organization and covers general requirements expected of candidates who apply for the position. Specific job requirements describe what the executive needs of the candidate. You need to focus on both the boilerplate and the specific job requirements since these are required for the position.

Executives describe the ideal candidate for the position knowing that this candidate may not exist, but if one does exist they may be hired on the spot. The job description may list some requirements as “required” and other requirements as “preferred.” Some organizations “require a PMP” while others “prefer a PMP.” Organizations that require a PMP usually do so because of its status or because they are obligated by the organization’s customers. Working toward a PMP usually works only if you are currently employed by the organization, although they may consider a project manager who is a candidate for a PMP (all requirements are met and you are waiting to take the PMP exam). Typically, the only way a candidate without a PMP is considered for an organization that requires a PMP is if the candidate has a unique skillset that is needed by the organization.

If you have a PMP, then you may be asked when you got it. You may not want to volunteer that information if it is more than four years ago and if you have not been consistently working project management since then. But you should know at least the month and year that you got the PMP. You will likely be asked, and it shows that you are sharp, or at least well prepared.

There are times when “required” requirements may be waived by the executive. This may happen when no candidate meets all the requirements for the position as described in the job description and the executive is pressured to fill the position. Unfortunately, applicants and potential applicants rarely know about the waivers. Some applicants apply even if they don’t meet all the “required” requirements hoping that “required” requirements may be waived.

Preferred requirements are sometimes referred to as “tie-breakers.” If two candidates are equally qualified and one has the preferred requirement, then the candidate with the preferred requirement is offered the position. Don’t assume that a preferred requirement is “required.” Some executives make a requirement preferred because few candidates who apply for the position meet the requirement. The executive doesn’t want to discourage other candidates from applying, so they specify “preferred” requirements and “required” requirements.

Full-Time, Part-Time, Agency

Project manager jobs are also described by the number of hours that the executive allocated to the position. Most project manager positions are full-time. A full-time position is a position that is guaranteed 40 hours per week. (The actual number of hours may vary depending on what the organization considers full-time.) There are busy periods when the executives need extra help for a few hours per day. For example, an operations unit may have a relatively small, simple project. The executives may create a part-time project management position of 20 hours per week (4 hours per day) to manage the project. The part-time project manager is guaranteed 20 hours of work per week.

An agency project manager is not an employee of the firm, but is an employee of an organization that is contracted by the firm to provide temporary or length of project help. The contracted organization may be a consulting organization that is brought in by the firm to help solve the firm’s problem, such as developing and executing a project plan. The contracted organization may be more a personnel agency than a consulting organization and may focus on providing project managers and project teams to the firm rather than taking on the firm’s entire problem. Project management is a lucrative business and credentialled employees are often in demand. The following is a list of some of the world’s largest project management firms. Their area of specialization is varied and a PMP offers such an organization flexibility. Supplying resources to a firm can run the gamut from temps to multimillion dollar project managers. If you are specialized in an in-demand area, you may be used to gain a contract, so interpersonal skills are highly valued as an agency project manager.

Internally, project manager positions may be identified as a full-time equivalent. The project manager is a full-time employee of the firm but is assigned to projects sponsored by different executives. For example, the project manager’s week may be allocated to five projects, each receiving the project manager’s attention for a day. The organization may find it difficult finding five project managers who want to work one day a week. However, one position can be combined and split among the five projects.

Independent Contractor

Hiring a project manager as an independent contractor is a complex process and can be an issue in the US because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has strict rules on whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor. The firm hiring an independent contractor does not pay employer’s taxes normally paid if the person was an employee. It is common for the firm to hire a person who works as an independent contractor through an agency where the person has a relationship (employee or independent contractor) with the agency and the agency has an independent contractor relationship with the firm.

Here are guidelines provided by the IRS:

With an employee, the firm:

• Controls every aspects of the person’s performance.
• Decides when and where the employee will work.
• Provides tools to use.
• Includes detailed instructions on how to perform the work.
• Measures outcome of the person’s work.
• Trains the person on how to perform the work.
• Reimburses for expenses.
• Provides employee-type benefits.
• Provides a guarantee payment (paycheck).

With an independent contractor, the firm:

• Provides broad instructions on how to perform the work.
• Focuses on outcome of the work, not the person doing the work.
• No reimbursement for expenses. The independent contractor has profit/loss opportunity.
• Provides payment based on terms of the contract. Paid for performance.
• The independent contractor can provide services to other clients.
• The independent contractor determines how and when work is performed and the independent contractor supplies tools needed to complete the work.

Benefits and No-Benefits

Benefits vary greatly. Don’t assume all benefit packages are the same throughout the different industries. It is wise to carefully assess the benefit package when you are offered the position and compare the benefits package to the benefits offered by your current employer. A substantial decrease in benefits may be costly and negate any increase in pay that you received when changing jobs.

Not all project manager positions come with full benefits. A firm may offer benefits to full-time project managers. Part-time project managers may be offered prorated benefits that are offered to full-time project managers—or no benefits at all. Benefits are not offered to agency project managers primarily because agency project managers usually work full-time for the agency. Agencies may or may not offer benefits.

Make sure you find out when benefits begin and when they are terminated. Benefits may not kick in until you are off your probationary period, which can last three months, depending on the company policy. During that period you are expected to find your own coverage, or hope you don’t become ill. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) may enable you to temporarily continue your current employer’s health insurance when you terminate employment. You’ll be expected to pay the health insurance premium. Also, make sure you find out when benefits end. Some healthcare facilities stop benefits the day the employee is terminated. If you leave today, your benefits stop at midnight.

Union versus Non-Union

You may find that project team members in a firm are represented by a union. A union is an organization of employees (called a bargaining unit) that negotiate terms of employment (called a collective bargaining agreement) for its members. The bargaining unit is usually affiliated with a state or national organization that has similar affiliations with bargaining units in other healthcare facilities. The state or national organization provides professional labor and legal services that guide local affiliates through the bargaining process and management of the collective bargain agreement.

The collective bargaining agreement typically specifies positions that are covered by the collective bargaining agreement. Terms of employment for covered positions are specified in the collective bargaining agreement. Project managers are usually considered management and are not covered by a bargaining unit. However, if you apply for a project team position covered by the collective bargaining agreement, you must abide by terms of employment specified in the collective bargaining agreement. You will not be able to negotiate other terms of employment nor will the organization be able to do so.

During the first few days of orientation, you will meet with a union representative who will explain the benefits of joining the union. If you agree to join, you’ll complete paperwork that permits the organization to deduct union dues from your pay and give the dues to the union. You’ll have rights to participate in union activities without retribution from management. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), you have the right to refuse to join the union without any repercussions from the organization or the union. However, the NLRA permits the organization and the bargaining unit to enter into a union security agreement. The union security agreement requires employees who hold positions covered by the bargaining agreement and who are not union members to pay an agency fee to the union as a condition of employment. The agency fee is usually a substantial percentage of the union dues paid per pay period to the union for services in negotiating terms of your employment. You are bound by the collective bargaining agreement but you don’t have any rights to participate in union activities since you are not member of the union.

Some states have passed right-to-work laws that prohibit a bargaining unit from collecting an agency fee from non-union members who hold positions covered by the bargaining agreement. This means that the organization is an open shop where project managers are free to choose when or not to join the bargaining unit. You’ll probably be told by the organization if the organization is an open shop. You can also use online resources to find out if the state where you intend to work is a right-to-work state.

Job Postings

Once the executives receive approval for the project management position, Human Resources follows the firm’s policies and procedures—to search for candidates. The initial search begins internally, by posting the position on the firm’s internal website and posting the position on designated sites throughout the firm. Current employees can co...

Indice dei contenuti

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Introduction: Cracking the PM Interview
• Chapter 1 The Project Manager Interview Process
• Chapter 2 Behind the Scenes of the Project Manager Interview Process
• Chapter 3 The New Project Manager Interview
• Chapter 4 The Experienced Project Manager
• Chapter 5 Project Managers with Reputations or Recommendations
• Chapter 6 Choosing a Project Management Specialty
• Chapter 7 Prepping for the Interview
• Chapter 8 Prepping for Project Manager Questions
• Chapter 9 Prepping for Test Questions
• Chapter 10 Project Management Calculations
• Chapter 11 Enterprise, Extreme, Agile Project Management
• Chapter 12 Staying On Top of Your Game with PMP Changes
• Index