Senior Project Manager Interview Questions & Answers


A Senior Project Manager oversees the success of a project by managing each stage from planning to execution.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Senior Project Manager or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Senior Project Manager position, these Senior Project Manager interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Senior Project Manager Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Senior Project Manager interview questions.

  1. How Do You Start A Project?
  2. How Would You Close A Project?
  3. What Do You Understand By Project Life Cycle?
  4. What Are the Project Management Methodologies You Most Familiar With?
  5. Are you comfortable working with tight deadlines and meeting project goals?
  6. How Do You Monitor And Manage Risks When Working On A Project?
  7. What are some of the most important skills for a senior project manager to have?
  8. How would you deal with a team member who is not meeting their goals or expectations?
  9. What is your process for creating a project plan?
  10. What Do You Understand By A Project Charter?
  11. How Do You Handle Project Change Request?
  12. Provide an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult client or customer.
  13. What would you do if you noticed that team members were starting to become frustrated with the project?
  14. When was the last time you took on a challenging project and how did it turn out?
  15. What Is Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) And How Does It Affect The Work Estimates Of Tasks/Activities?
  16. Do you have experience working with different software programs?
  17. What project management software have you used? What are your favorite features? What limitations does it have? 
  18. How do you monitor everyone’s work?
  19. We want to become more environmentally friendly. If you were in charge of a project related to this, what steps would you take?
  20. Describe your personal work ethic and how it impacts your ability to complete projects on time.
  21. What is Agile methodology? Do you find it suitable for some situations and not others? 
  22. What do you think is the most important thing to remember when managing a team of people on a project?
  23. Describe your most challenging and most rewarding experiences as a senior project manager.
  24. How often do you think a project manager should update their team on the status of a project?
  25. There is a conflict between two team members on how to complete a certain aspect of the project. What will be your reaction?
  26. Tell me about the most complex portfolio of projects you’ve managed. How did you do it?
  27. What's your greatest skill as a senior project manager?
  28. You know you aren't going to be able to complete a project on time. How might you explain the situation to a customer?
  29. Describe the performance appraisal methods you might use to review your team's performance.
  30. What diagrams would you use to describe a project to a customer?
  31. What stage do you feel is most important in the project management cycle and why?
  32. Describe a time when you realized your current management approach wasn’t working. How did you pivot? Did you create new processes overall or just for that specific instance? 
  33. How do you know when a project is complete?
  34. How might you handle a disagreement between stakeholders during a critical stage in the project lifecycle?
  35. You have two big projects due soon. How might you prioritize different tasks based on their technical difficulty and prevent potential conflicts from arising?
  36. What makes you the right candidate for this senior project manager position?

Senior Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Senior Project Manager interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  2. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  3. Tell Me About Yourself
  4. Why Do You Want This Job?
  5. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  6. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  7. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  8. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  9. Why Should We Hire You?
  10. What is Your Greatest Weakness?