Below are the top eight project management interview questions on managing conflict and handling stakeholders, which you’ll most likely be asked at a job interview, plus tips and examples of the best answers.
1. How Do You Handle Office Politics?
When job interviewers ask this question, they try to assess your people skills. No one wants employees who don’t fit in with their colleagues or clients or blend into the company culture.
Tip #1: Reflect in your answers that you are not generally an easily irritated person because that’s one of the things that the interviewers are trying to gauge.
Tip #2: Demonstrate that when a situation of annoyance arises, you communicate and handle it with grace.
Sample Answer
“I try to stay as far away from office politics as possible because it disturbs my performance. I like people and can pretty much work with anyone. Plus, I do my best to follow directions and meet what is expected of me in the workplace –I find that the best course of action is to stay out of these internal battles.
It’s rare, but I get very annoyed when one person wants to take credit for something a group effort. Credit should be given where it’s due; that’s how teams work. It’s not just unfair to people but also impacts the team’s efforts.
I believe in effective delegation. I assign clear roles to each member, with guidelines to ensure no one steps beyond their remit. Hence, the issue of someone taking undue credit does not arise on my watch”
2. Tell Me About A Time When You Had Two Key Stakeholders With Opposing Views. How Did You Manage That?
This is an important question and often requires a detailed answer to a real-life situation. This helps the employer determine how flexible, accommodating, and influential your personality is and what you do when a conflict arises.
Tip #1: Always answer in a manner that shows that you seek to understand the people, listen to them, and then conclude.
Tip #2: Keep it positive and highlight your persuasive tactics.
Sample Answer
“At my last job, there was a big debate among two of our executives on selecting one of the two companies who wanted to work with us. One of the companies was more well-known and budget-friendly, while the other was less known and costlier, but it would get our job done in the long run. One of the executives wanted our company to work with the famous one, and the other wanted to work with the less-known company. Things got heated pretty quick, and I had to step in and call in a lunch break.
When I saw that both the parties had calmed down over a cup of coffee, I brought the situation up again. I had both the executives make their arguments one by one, listed down the benefits on a whiteboard across from each other –and let them decide.
They ended up going with the less-known company, just by the way, and from what I hear, it turned out very well for them.”
3. How Do You Deal With Rude Clients?
Your interviewer wants to know and test your reasoning abilities, problem-solving skills, and how effectively you make decisions on the spot. This is also a test of your people skills.
Tip #1: Make sure that the answer you provide is well-thought and well-constructed.
Tip #2: Avoid using cynical or different words or harsh language.
Tip #3: Try to showcase your leadership, communication, and attentiveness to the customer as much as possible.
Tip #4: Don’t just say vague sentences. Try to be precise and give real-life examples.
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Sample Answer
“I think complaints are unavoidable, and many people don’t handle them well. So when I see that happening, I usually let the client have their say, and it’s only when they stop that I gently let them know the situation. I believe clients should be treated with respect and communicated with, informed to their satisfaction because both of us want the same thing.
For example, if a client comes to us and wants to complain about a delay in delivery of the equipment they ordered, I apologize and tell them why we can’t take their purchase back. Then I gently guide them towards alternatives. Of course, I want to ensure they are heard and feel understood, which usually calms people down.
I genuinely believe that, because the clients are what keeps us up and running, a dissatisfied customer is a bad reflection of the company. I make sure to hear them out, pay close attention to their concerns, and address them, keeping in mind the policies of our company. “
4. Have You Ever Had A Conflict With Your Boss? How Was It Resolved?
The interviewer is trying to assess your conflict management skills and their compatibility with your interaction with authority figures. They want to know if you respect your supervisors, even when disagreeing with them.
Tip #1: Keep track of incidents of conflict at your workplace that you were involved in, and how you handled them.
Tip #2: Don’t say it out loud if you disliked your previous boss, no matter what.
Tip #3: Try to offer a real-life example because experienced interviewers can often look through made-up stories.
Tip #4: Talk a little about the conflict, but focus primarily on the resolution and the role you played in bringing it about.
Tip #5: Stay humble and considerate.
Sample Answer
“I’ve been very lucky that I have had excellent, talented employers so far in my career, and I have a lot of respect for them. Of course, conflicts and disagreements arise, but usually, I get along quite well with managers because I’m a very hard worker.
I did have a rocky start at the beginning of my career with one of my managers, but it was primarily because I had different expectations than he had. Keeping a steady communication channel open is necessary, and I would try and chat up every other day with him to get an idea of our goals. I ended up finding a middle ground, and it all worked out. That was the longest I had worked at a company.”
5. How Are You When You’re Working Under Pressure?
The interviewer wants an elaborate incident of a pressure-inducing situation, how it affected you and how you handled it. There are times that pressure makes things more productive for some employees, and that’s another thing that they might want to know.
Tip #1: Avoid mentioning an incident when the stress or pressure was self-induced. For example, don’t narrate a story about how you were stressed because you procrastinated, rather when you were given many tasks, and you finished them on time.
Tip #2: Don’t talk about your feelings, just what you did to combat that feeling.
Tip #3: Every job has a situation of stress that will occasionally arise; make sure you don’t say that such incidents bother you.
Tip #4: If stress can be a motivator and cause you to be creative, definitely throw that in.
Sample Answer
“I think workplace pressure is inevitable, and it can get to everyone. But over the years, I’ve figured out how to manage it better. I work better under pressure, like when there are a lot of assignments to do, and the deadline is soon. With the end goal in near sight, I stay motivated and productive.
Of course, we all crumble under stressful situations, and I’m no exception, but I usually manage to salvage things because I’m pretty good at multi-tasking and time-management. For example, once I had four big projects due in the same week. I created a schedule, allotted a time for every task, and stuck to it.”
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6. How Will You Gain And Keep The Support Of Your Project Sponsors?
Your interviewer is looking for two things: how you define ‘project sponsors’ and how you elicit and retain information from them as a project leader.
Some people consider project sponsors to be the people who review the project, while others consider them the people who hold the budget. Either way, project managers are responsible for upholding these relationships and effectively communicating the value of the project to these people so that there is continual support.
Tip #1: You can use this question to talk about your supply-chain management skills, people and project management skills, negotiation skills, and your ability to deliver the financials and administrations to achieve project goals responsibly.
Tip #2: Highlight your strong negotiation skills and history of building strong relationships with colleagues and project sponsors.
Sample Answer
“The key to keeping project sponsors is simple: do the project on time, within the budget, and satisfy the customers. If the project goes with the minimum amount of glitches, you’ll inevitably have the support of project sponsors.
I work very hard to keep the projects I’m involved in on track. I informally interfere with customers and sponsors if I sense things are going south, I conduct regular formal meetings with all team members to keep track of and resolve arising issues, I am wholeheartedly open to solution suggestions, and I keep the customers informed at every step of the way, I continuously communicate with the higher-ups of the project, and I take all concerns and requests very seriously.
This requires a lot of communication and negotiation, but it keeps the project running smoothly, and that’s all that the sponsors eventually care for.”
7. What Is A Stakeholder?
There are many stakeholders in the project, including the project leader, testers, customers, resource managers, senior management, project team members, consultants, and even contractors and subcontractors.
With this question, the interviewer wants to know what your definition of a stakeholder is and which of them you consider most important. Your relationships, negotiation, and communication levels matter in a project, particularly with stakeholders.
Tip #1: Focus on all groups of stakeholders rather than on one.
Tip #2: Every group has a different set of importance, priorities, urgencies, proximities, and power; talk about the “Stakeholder Circle”
Sample Answer
“The person, entity, or organization directly affected by a project is the stakeholder. Such an effect may be positive or negative, but the party involved has influence over the project, so it is important to involve them and keep them updated through all the phases of a project; planning, execution, and closing.”
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8. How Do You Determine The Communication Needs Of Stakeholders?
The interviewer wants to assess your ability to communicate with different stakeholders throughout a project. Your answer should match the earlier question of who is a stakeholder.
Tip #1: Explain how you value the role of each stakeholder.
Tip #2: Demonstrate your process for maintaining effective communication with each stakeholder.
Sample Answer
“All stakeholders are important – no matter how minor or major their role is. Even small-time stakeholders exhibit the potential to rise quickly and become hefty investors. And if they lag behind schedule, it will affect your overall critical path.
That is primarily why every stakeholder involved in a project must be kept in the loop through a streamlined communication process. As a project manager, you have to be proactive and ensure every stakeholder is part of the project no matter what, through a different channel of communication – direct and indirect.
When formulating your project communication strategy – it is vital to have two plans. One plan should just be a simple overview of the communications strategies you will use, and the other should be a more comprehensive and in-depth communication plan.
However, for smaller, not-so-complex activities and projects, a brief overview of the plan will suffice. But remember that the primary objective of any communication plan is to build effective and consistent communication with the stakeholders. You have to successfully manage their perceptions concerning the progress and productivity of the project.
You have to create your communications plan in tandem with your entire team – and not just individually. Concentrate your plan on the needs of the stakeholders. And remember, your communications will evolve before the project, its start, and throughout its launch, progress and completion.”
