Academic Coordinator Interview Preparation Guide

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in the next year I will be finishing up the revisions on my manuscript for x book which is due for publication on x date. I have several other projects on the go that I wish to pursue after that [give details]; if my funding applications to the x and y grant bodies are successful I should be able to see those projects to publication by

While the interviewer is at it, they may also be interested in finding out about your projects and your contribution to those projects.
Therefore, they may be asked questions about documentations such as: the SOW (scope of work) that your project had, Site Surveys Provisional Acceptance as well as the action items and tasks that were conducted.

Every project manager is aware of the risk factors of any project. As a project manager, how did you monitor these risks during the project life cycle?

One another simple question asked is whether you have managed a team directly or indirectly. The interviewer will also be interested to know how you have managed any project that is multidisciplinary, like matrix management or even cross country management.

Another question that is commonly asked, due to the ever increasing boundaries of the business, is whether you have ever outsourcing works to subcontractors or with firms located in a country other than yours.
The interviewer would also be interested in knowing whether you were responsible for selecting the vendors and suppliers for your project.
(SOW and contract?)

With the advent of the corporate culture, transparency is the moot point in any company.
Therefore, you might also be asked about the information that you passed on to the executives and other key management members of your company about the project.

This is not an exhaustive list of the questions that will be asked. There are several other technical questions that are asked during the project manager interview, depending on the job description and the elevation of the job title in the company.
Make sure that you read about the job description and job requirments well before you opt for a project manager interview.

One common question is about the various project management tools that you have worked with. One frequently used project management tool is MS Project.

Although I am an all-rounder and could contribute to departmental life in many ways, I know that I have the international research profile that you are looking for.

Other than that, the questions may also contain information about which business management tools, like SAP, ERP, BANN, etc have you worked with.

'I look forward to having the opportunity to fully contributing to the life of the department. I have a special interest in the area of admissions/ exams/head of year etc'. I had some experience in this role at my last institution and realised that I have the skills necessary to do it well [name them] and actually implemented changes to their policy on x. However, I realise the need for flexibility here and would happily take on the challenge of any administration role that would suit my level of expertise

Simply describe your experience in detail. For instance, how you've directed and monitored the requirements and progress of short term IT projects with limited personnel. You can also elaborate on how you've ensured that products and services answered your client's specifications within the allocated resources and framework.

This is a tough one. What they are asking for is some thoughts on what you have seen and heard about the way they do things that make you want to work for them. The emphasis in the question is on the word 'here'. So, to answer this question you need to know a lot about the university and the department. Look at the person specification for the job. If they are obviously looking for someone who is a good teacher rather than an international researcher, answer this question by prioritising teaching.

Rarely is an inexperienced person taken in as a project manager. Any project manager would have at least two or three years of experience either as an employee or as a project manager. Therefore, this is one of the basic questions asked. Make sure that you give a brief and concise answer to this question, without going too much into the details. Also, make sure that everything you say as an answer to this question is factual.

A project manager has to liaise with other departments in the company, like the procurement, the R&D, as well as the Logistics department. Other than that, the project manager may also have to interact with customers and company's parters. Sometimes, the project manager may also be responsible for the invoicing and financial issues of his projects. Do you have that project management experience?

No job is without its disappointments. The disappointments can be anything, from an employee who left for personal reasons or the project that you did not bag because of the financials involved.
Make sure that you provide a quick and factual answer for this question.

These and other questions are randomly asked for the interview of the position of a project manager.

A coordinator typically produces feasibility studies for project ideas. He then plans project progress: sub targets and tasks, goals, milestones, etc. Personnel planning means distributing responsibilities between the assigned employees in the most effective way.

Since a project manager can be responsible for the supply chain management and procurement, you would also be asked questions about the same - in a bid to know whether you have handled these tasks.

To be frank, a project manager is rarely responsible for directly doing the project work within a company. The key responsibility area of the project manager is to get the job done and delegate it to the others. The project manager assumes responsibility (either short-term or long-term) for being the project employees's manager. S/he is therefore an integral part in the company's work culture and carries on many duties and responsibilities running the day-to-day project tasks.

The project manager must have technical, financial and business development knowledge and skills.
The project manager's basic strengths may include:
Leadership, teamwork management, good communication skills (with clients and co-workers), analytic thinking, prioritization, highly motivated person, initiator, strong decision-maker, problem solver and multi-tasker.

Apart from the portfolio, everyone has some project or aspect of their jobs that they hold close to their heart. This is the time to inform the interviewer about what your favorite project was and why. Of course, you have to make sure that you do not go on a ramble and genuinely discuss some of your favorite projects.

Busy, complex, involved with cross company teams and many levels of the organization management, its affiliates, and customers, all at once. Do not hesitate to say that because of the breadth of your field of work, a typical day is characterized by uncertainty and surprise. This requires quick and creative thinking, flexibility, tolerance, adaptability, and formidable multi-tasking skills.

With these many questions, the interviewer will also like to know whether you created the project business plan and were kept in the loop about the financial aspects of the project. The interviewer would also like to know whether you were the one who monitors the budget/incomes of the project, like - costs, income, gross profit and net profit etc.

Even if you think there is no one single skill that is the most important, name just one.
The interviewer simply wants to see how you think and express yourself. So be short and to the point. An example of one important skill for a project coordinator is multi-tasking, being able to juggle many tasks simultaneously. Or you can talk about teamwork since a coordinator must be able to cooperate with many teams at once and ensure coordinated action between them.

As an experienced professional, you are bound to have a portfolio, and this is the right time to share such a portfolio with the interviewer. Make sure that the portfolio you share is authentic as your previous portfolio will decide whether the interviewer will be interested in you or not.

If, for example, you have worked in a development company, an obvious example is working closely with the development team to define goals, coordinate resources, solve conflicts, and minimize risks. Project coordinators direct resources and are thus connected to resource managers and the procurement. They work to satisfy quality, deadlines, and budget limitations, and might also work closely with specialists like quality engineers.

A project manager has to take into consideration several disagreements. They can be between employees, between the superior and the employees, or even the client and the employees.
If you reply that you have never had any disagreements, the interviewer will wonder whether you were really a project manager for your skills or simply because you are a people pleaser.
Make sure that you come up with at least one incident where employees and superiors had differences in thought and you were instrumental in changing the scenario.