Project Manager Mock Interview
Master 50 Project Manager interview questions covering scope, stakeholders, risk, and delivery.
Question 9 of 50
Tell me how you communicate with others. What kind of communicator are you?
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Community Answers
Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
It is vital that a project manager be able to effectively communicate with many different kinds of people, including stakeholders, vendors, and employees, among others. Your interviewer wants to know if your specific approach aligns with the requirements for the open role.
"In general, I believe that I am a very strong communicator and that this allows me to do my job well. I tailor my communication style as needed. For example, when I talked to the sponsor of the last project I worked on, I communicated the big picture and didn't delve into the nitty-gritty details. When I talked to remote team members, however, I focused on expectations, processes, details, and timelines. I consider my communication style to be a mix of assertive, functional, and personal. Assertive because I clearly state my opinions and advocate for the project's needs while being respectful of others, functional because I am detail-oriented and like to communicate step-by-step processes, and personal because I pick up on emotional language as well. In the past, my unique communication style has worked well and I believe it will allow me to excel within this role."
Jessica is an experienced HR Business Partner with over 6 Years of experience in recruiting and interviewing for various industries including Oil & Gas, Aviation, Start-Up, Healthcare, and more.
"I like to keep people updated as necessary. I utilize modes of communication that work depending on the person I am communicating with. As most people have differing levels of availability, I recognize that before communicating information. For example, if I am communicating with a CEO, I give regular updates in snippets so that it is fast and easy to read. If I am communicating with a coworker, I communicate on regular intervals such as weekly to keep the project or initiative going. I communicate via in-person, over Microsoft teams or email as necessary."
Karrie Day is a certified career coach and strategist with a passion for helping her clients define and reach their professional goals. She offers career advancement services such as brand development, resume writing and critiques, job search strategies,
Before the interview, brush up on the various communication styles out there (for example: assertive, direct, analytical, intuitive, functional, formal, personal) and identify which relate to you. This will help you frame your response with communication vocabulary that will likely resonate with your interviewer.
I typically encourage my project manager clients to demonstrate that they are comfortable communicating using a variety of styles. This demonstrates flexibility and the ability to customize their approach based on the details of the situation. For example, you might describe the communication style you use to resolve issues within your team different than the style you use to communicate with senior management.
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Anonymous Answer
I believe I am a strong communicator and part of being a good communicator is tailoring your style to the audience at hand. The messaging to your sponsor and stakeholders need to be more formal and less detailed, whereas communication to the project team needs to have a lot more detail and be less formal. I try to not take an authoritarian approach, and instead take a personal approach with a focus on being functional with a dash of directness.
Amanda's Feedback
This question helps give the potential employer insight into your level of self-awareness and helps them determine how well you'd fit within a particular team or department. It's clear that you're a thoughtful communicator. Remember, communication isn't just about the information you send out, but also how you actively listen or take information in. As with many other interview questions, it's important to be able to provide an example or share the benefits or drawbacks of your particular style. This demonstrates you've taken the time to consider how you communicate with others as well as your own preferences around being communicated with.
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