How to prepare for a product manager interview?

What industry were you in? What types of clients were involved? Did you personally interact with external stakeholders? How many people or teams were involved internally? How big was the budget?

Like most other interview questions, you'll want to tailor your answer here to the role you're interviewing for. Look at the job description and do some additional research to try to understand what kinds of projects you'd be working on in this position, and make sure you touch on similar work you've done in the past.

The key to doing this is to take your current experience and make it relevant to what you do.

Commonly asked interview questions for project managers include:

• Can you walk me through a specific project you worked on, what your role was, who the stakeholders were, and what problem you were solving?

• Tell me about a time when a project you were working on went off the rails or an unexpected challenge came up--and how you got it back on track.

• How would you describe your communication style?

• How do you motivate people to stay on track and meet their deadlines?

• What experience do you have with process development?

• What is your proficiency level with [insert name of software or tool]?

As you notice, many of the most commonly asked interview questions focus on aspects of running a project. This is why it is important to carefully review your project history and be able to talk about it in detail if needed. It is also good to be up-to-date on project management terminology and strategies for each level of a project lifecycle.

If possible, research the project management tools that your potential employer uses. If you are unsure, research the most commonly used project management tools for that industry. If you do not have experience with that tool, then now is the time to review it.

You do not have to become an expert in it; rather, look for ways that are similar and different from the tools that you do have experience with.

Finally, to help prepare for a project management interview, look for reviews from current and former employers regarding the interview process. These reviews typically contain key interview information such as the duration, number of interviews, interview style, and even commonly asked interview questions used by that employer.