Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com.
And in this tutorial, I'm going to teach you how to pass a junior project manager interview.
If you have a junior project manager interview coming up, please do make sure you watch this
tutorial fully from beginning to end, because I promise to make you the standout candidate.
Now, how am I going to achieve that? Well, I will cover the following things during the
forthcoming tutorial. I'm going to give you some great tips for passing your junior project
manager interview. I will give you a number of sample junior project manager interview
questions; the likely interview questions that will come up during your interview. I
will then give you suggested answers to those interview questions to help you prepare. I
will tell you the qualities that the assessor is looking for from effective junior project
managers. And I will also give you three questions to ask at the end of your junior project manager
interview. So there are five great reasons why you should watch this from beginning to
end and take notes. Now, before I get into the content, a quick, warm welcome to this
junior project manager interview training tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn. That's
me there in the center. I am a former fire officer, a project manager myself, and I've
been helping people to pass their interviews for 20 years now on. I always do that by giving
you top scoring answers to the interview questions. Please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel
by clicking the red button below the video. And then you won't miss out on any of the
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you. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn.com if you want to. My LinkedIn.com link is in
the description below the video and it's always good to connect with like-minded individuals
and professionals like yourself. Okay, let's get into the content. The junior project manager
interview questions and answers training tutorial. So the first thing I want to quickly cover
is the qualities that you need to demonstrate during your interview to make sure you pass.
The qualities that we need to make sure you show the interviewer are, the fact that you
are a great organizer and a planner. These two are really, really important. And I've
integrated those into the answers that are coming right now. You have to demonstrate
that you can remain calm and cool under pressure. A really important quality that is needed
to be an effective junior project manager. You are also a total completer-finisher, somebody
who gets things done and somebody who always focuses on delivery. As a project manager,
you have to deliver on time, to budget and to specification. You also have to have strong
communication and interpersonal skills, be able to create and follow systems, procedures
and also processes. So those are the qualities that I have included within the answers that
are coming right now. Let's get straight to them. The first junior project manager interview
question that we need to tackle is: Tell me about yourself why you want to become the
junior project manager? My tip for answering this question highly is that in your answer,
explain how your natural abilities draw you to the role of a project manager. Here we
go. “I am a positive, enthusiastic and driven person who wants to become a junior project
manager because the natural qualities and attributes I possess will make me effective,
efficient and competent in the role. For example, I am able to deliver fully on the project
specifications, I take pride in maintaining the highest standards of work achievable,
and I possess the relevant planning and organization capabilities that are needed within this role.
Outside of work I lead a healthy and stable lifestyle, which means when I am at work,
I am energized, totally focused on achieving the best possible results for my employer,
and always totally committed to the commercial objectives that drive a business forward.”
That is a great answer! It is positive in nature. It is loaded with positive keywords
that will resonate in a strong manner with the interviewer. Let's move on to the next
junior project manager interview question and that is, what past experiences do you
have that will make you a good junior project manager? So my tip for answering this question
is when answering the question, put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer. What experiences
do you think they want to hear? They want to hear of experiences that are closely aligned
to the role of a junior project manager. Here is my suggested answer to this interview question.
“The past experiences I have that I feel will make me a great junior project manager,
are all centered on my ability to plan and organize my work effectively, my ability to
communicate clearly with people, and also my desire to build up strong working relationships
with individuals and teams. For example, in a previous role, I was renowned for being
a strong organizer and planner and all of my work would consistently be completed on
time and to a high standard. Within the same role, I often had to communicate closely with
team members and external contractors, so I fully I understand how important it is to
provide clarity of communication at all times, and to also make it clear what is expected
from people. Other experiences I have, include my ability to listen, my ability to motivate
and inspire others and also my positive and determined attitude towards my work. I feel
strongly that my previous work experiences will benefit me in the role of a junior project
manager with your company.” Now that is an in-depth answer and I have deliberately
made it in-depth because they are saying what past experiences do you have, and to be effective
as a project manager, you need to have lots of past experiences that are closely aligned
to the requirements of the role. That's important. Next interview question I want you to prepare
for is, what would you do in the first four weeks of starting as our junior project manager?
What would you do in the first four weeks of starting as a junior project manager for
our company? So my tip for answering this question is, tell the interview panel you
already have a plan in place of what you will do when you start. Because this then shows
you are taking the role seriously and you are already thinking ahead. Here is my suggested
answer. “I already have a plan in place of what I intend to do once I start. First
and foremost, I will obtain a clear and concise brief from you, the management team, as to
how you want my work to fit in to the company’s long-term commercial objectives. Then, I would
spend time reading the company Standard Operating Procedures so I was fully up to speed in regard
to expectations and standards of work required. I would also get to know the people who would
be working with me on the project management team, and I will also get a thorough understanding
of how the administrative aspect of your business works, as I see this as an important part
of my role as the Junior Project Manager.” You are demonstrating there that you already
have a plan in place of what you will do when you start. The majority of people will not
have a clue how to answer that question! The next junior project manager interview question
I want you to prepare for is, sum up project management to me in one word? My tip for answering
this question is, although you should give them a one word answer specifically to this
interview question, I recommend you then expand and tell them why you've chosen that particular
word, and what it sees about you as a junior project manager. So here is my answer to the
question: Sum up project management to me in one word? “DELIVERY – I would have
to say delivery, simply because project management is all about fulfilling your promises, completing
what is required to the necessary standards, and also making sure things are completed
on time. Everything you do as a Junior Project Manager should always be focused on DELIVERY.”
So that is MY interpretation of project management. It's about delivering on time, to specification
and on budget. That is what is important to me. You might have a different word that you
would use, but for me, DELIVERY is very strong and powerful. The next question that I want
you to prepare for is, why do you want to work for our company as a junior project manager?
Now, this question is pretty much guaranteed to come up. So my tip for answering this question
is, show the interviewer you have conducted plenty of research into their company. Give
at least three specific reasons why you have chosen to work for them. Now, most candidates
won't have a clue what to say to this interview question, but you are going to be different.
As I say, this will come up during your interview. Here is my suggested answer. “When I saw
this position advertised, I knew I wanted to apply for it because it was with your company.
You have an outstanding reputation, which would make me feel privileged to work for
you, and you also clearly support all of your staff so they can work to the highest standards
possible in their jobs. I also conducted quite a bit of research before applying, and it
became clear that the list of clients you have worked with over the years means the
standards you set, and expect from your team, are the highest possible. I too have high
standards, and therefore I feel I would be able to fit in well with the values of the
organization.” That's a brilliant answer! You are giving three great reasons why you
want to work for their company. So the next junior project manager interview question
I want you to prepare for is, what's your biggest weakness? Again, I would be extremely
surprised if this didn't appear during your interview. My tip for answering this is: now
we have to be very careful in how we answer this interview question, simply because you
need so many qualities and traits to become an effective junior project manager. Here
is my suggested answer. “I would have to say my biggest weakness, based on feedback
from others and also what I feel about myself as a person, is that I find it really hard
to strike a healthy work-life balance. I would rather be working than have time off. Now,
obviously, this is not great from a healthy work life balance perspective, but I simply
love my work and I often work late into the evenings, especially when I have an important
project to deliver. Having said that, I am someone who always looks to improve and develop,
so I am learning to take time off when needed, but also at the same time making sure all
of my work is carried to the same high standards expected.” So that is a safe weakness in
my opinion, to give. That is actually MY weakness. I spend a lot of time working on creating
these videos all of the time. I'm doing coaching and writing books, etc. and I don't tend to
take that much time off. So that is obviously attractive to an employer. And that's the
clever thing about this answer. It does not cause you any damage or your chances of getting
this job by giving a weakness that is aligned to the role, and that's actually attractive
to any employer. I said at the start about what questions should you ask in your junior
project manager interview? Some people say to me, “I don't like to ask questions. I
simply would say, no, it's OK. You've covered everything during the interview.” But I
think it's really important to ask questions. So here's three questions I recommend you
ask: What's the most important thing for your company in regard to project management? So
this is clever because it is trying to assess what's important to the company. So it shows
that you care and therefore you will implement what's important to them within the work you
carry out as a junior project manager. Question number two: What are the plans for the company
over the next five to 10 years? That demonstrates to me that you are thinking of staying with
the company for a long period of time. And then finally… I'm keen to learn more about
your company whilst I wait to hear the results of the interview. Is there anything else you
recommend I read up on or study? So again, that shows that you are keen to learn more
about the company. Now they will probably say, “It's OK. We will be in touch soon.
Don't worry.” But you have already demonstrated your enthusiasm for the role. So I would just
ask those three questions. Now, if you want more help with passing your junior project
manager interview, please click that link that's appeared right there in the top right-hand
corner of the video. It takes you through to my website, PassMyInterview.com… direct
to this page. I've got a number of project manager interview questions and answers to
help you prepare. There are also five tips on the page to help you pass. I also have
a project coordinator guide, if you're interested in that? There's 20 questions and answers
for you there. And there is also an I.T. project manager interview question and answers guide!
I'll just take you quickly through to that where there's 21 questions and answers. So
those three guides there, can further help you to pass your junior project manager interview.
I hope you've enjoyed that. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and LIKE the video and connect with
me on LinkedIn.com. If you have any questions, please put them in the comments section below
and I'll be more than happy to help you. I wish you all the best for passing your junior
project manager interview. Thank you for watching and have a brilliant day. Thank you.