"I've learned throughout my career that in many cases the project manager can take actions to help avoid project risks. For example, making sure the project's purpose, need, and scope are well-defined prevents significant problems down the road.

In terms of risks that I've encountered during past projects, they would include contractor delays and not having control over my team's priorities. I've learned techniques to combat these risks like including late penalties in contractor contracts and briefing team managers on the importance of the project. In terms of issues, I recently had to quickly adapt when a key member of my team was unexpectedly hospitalized. Luckily, I had identified back-up employees and was able to tap some of them to fill in while this person was incapacitated so the project timeline wasn't impacted."

"A common issue that I have experienced is communication from project sponsors or there is a breakdown of communication from other parties involved. I like to solve these communication issues by having set meeting cadences with stakeholders and members of the project team to try and mitigate issues that may arise. I also have an open-door policy so that if issues do arise, I can know about them and fix them as soon as possible."

Describe several of the risks you have encountered as a project manager and the techniques you use to combat them. Focus on risks that either occur frequently or those that have the potential to ruin a project if not handled accordingly. Risks in either of these categories are likely to have an impact if they are not mitigated properly.

Also, it can be helpful to describe a risk that is likely to occur on the types of projects you will be managing if hired for the role. For example, a creative project manager might describe their approach to reigning in artists that struggle to find inspiration. An IT project manager might describe their process for mitigating the risk of everchanging technology and its effect on project scope and budgets.