I have been short listed for a job that I really want and have my interview on Wednesday.

The job I am going for is in a different business area to where I currently work and relates to the more operations/technical side of things. Nearest job title would be project manager.

Currently I work in the retail division of this bank and work as a sales manager but since starting with the company I have been seconded to various departments to support with ongoing projects. Which I have always enjoyed and found rewarding. Hence the change.

So, all the interviews I have ever had have related to sales performance and people managing but I’m now going to have an interview/presentation based around (i think) analysis, data interpretation, delivery of projects and my influencing skills.

So if anyone on here works in project management, resourcing, structures, incident management, data analysis etc and can think of any questions I may be asked (or have been asked) then any help would be appreciated.

Great, just what we need, another amateur PM… 🙄

Most interviews these days are behavioural or competency based.

Interviewers ask questions to elicit how candidates have demonstrated particular skills in their current and recent roles rather than focusing on specific knowledge or expertise (within reason).

First I would list all the current skills or capabilities that are required of your current role and do the same for the new role. If you have one look at the job descriptions or the internal advertisements.

Then, think of 2 to 3 recent examples of where you needed to demonstrate that capability. Think of the situation, what did you do and why, what were the challenges, how did you overcome them, what was the result, in hindsight would you have done something differently and why, what did you learn.

Where there are skills in the new role that are not in the existing role – then you will need to get creative with interpreting your achievements – but I am of the view that if you are missing a particular skill then be honest it can be learnt in the right environment.

IMO the term project management is pretty vague.

there is a site called business balls that is good for this kind of stuff, go have a look. It looks a bit of a mess but i have had an annual review directly taken from there, they matey who gave them out obviously thought that others would not use the internet. 😆

Oh and good luck, **** that chap up there, just a negative person.

At the end of the day the interviewer wants to be able to go through each line of the person specification and see how you meet it, be that a skill, qualification, knowledge etc. Use the person spec (or JD if there isn't a separate spec) and think of a few examples for how you demonstrate each competency. Try and keep it brief – you don't need to go into the whole backstory each time, just relevant details for each area.

cheers guys so far, this is just what I need.

Ill give the site mentioned a go.

Great, just what we need, another amateur PM…

You must one of the special few born with all the competencies and skills for any job you must ever have applied for then?

Great, just what we need, another amateur PM…

About as helpful as a lot of professional PMs I've worked with.

MrGreedy makes a fair point – make sure your answers are focused and brief. I wasn't trying to suggest you should wax lyrical – but be prepared for the interviewer to come back with some interesting angles.

No, I'm time-served (25 years plus), and have inherited many, many projects started/run/failed by those with little or no experience…

Also spent 10 of thoses years auditing/reviewing failed projects – because nobody ever wants to know why they went right, only why it went wrong.

I'm not saying this is you, but if I had a pound for every person I'd met who fitted this catagory – a Blur LT carbon would be my prize!

Stay off the jargon, if you can demonstrate management/leadership, do so – but don't lie. Wish you luck.

Lycra or baggies would be a good one.