1. What is a project coordinator?
The Project Coordinator is an integral member of the project team responsible for delivering building development projects of varying size and complexity.
2. What is a skill that is the most important for a project coordinator's role?
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.
3. Give an example of working in a team with specialists as a project coordinator?
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.
4. What is involved in planning a project?
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.
5. What is your experience in IT projects?
Simply describe your experience in detail. For instance, how you have directed and monitored the requirements and progress of short term IT projects with limited personnel. You can also elaborate on how you have ensured that products and services answered your client's specifications within the allocated resources and framework.
6. How would you define the typical working conditions of a project coordinator?
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.
7. What are the three main purposes of a project coordinator position?
The position mainly exists to serve as a liaison among client and service providers, to develop the client's idea on a fixed budget and to support the clients and organization throughout the project planning till operational implementation.
8. Which internal consulting tools are you familiar with?
I am well versed in Oracle, EBS and SalesForce. I am a tech savvy and computer friendly person and can adapt to any software preferred by the company or client.
9. Will you be able to work on holidays?
Definitely, I am available to work whenever the project requires me to.
10. Name the accounting and administrative tasks that a project coordinator has to accomplish?
Budget management, discrepancy balancing, timeline development and implementation are the core accounting and administrative tasks a project manager needs to master.
11. What are the personal strengths that aid you as a project coordinator?
Remarkable interpersonal skills, ability to negotiate and working out conflict resolution in a win-win manner are three positives that have always supported me in this role.
12. What are the main steps involved in planning a project?
Project management has three main phases. The preliminary phase involves understanding the project requirements after meeting with the clients and setting a budget. The second phase is that of planning and time line development and the final phase involves implementation of the plan.
13. What is the thing you would like to change about yourself?
Sometimes, I feel I am too much of a perfectionist. I am not pleased by things, themes, and arrangements easily and this trait burdens me at times more than the project would if my standards of work were in the same plane with the client's expectations which are almost always less than what I expect of the project.
14. What level of expertise do you have in getting bills cleared by external vendors?
I have been in the field for a while now and most commonly needed vendors are on my personal contract panel. I have never had clearance issues with vendors since being a professional, I never commit or deliver any service on credit.
15. How do you handle the uncertainty in a project coordinator's role?
It is important to apply quick and creative thinking when dealing with uncertainties in a project. Team members may not get along and funding may stop - it is up to us to ensure the efficacy of a project by employing tolerance, tact and flexibility.
16. How do you plan a project?
The first thing I do when making a plan for a said project is to create a feasibility study. The next step is to plan how a project will progress - this includes setting targets and milestones. Distributing responsibilities and allocating resources is next, followed by taking measures to ensure that deadlines are met.
17. Give an example of a project that did not work out well?
Describe a project you worked on and what the expected outcome was. Then explain what really happened and that you learned from that experience. This takes what is expected to be a negative.
18. Why do you want to leave your job?
Avoid making negative remarks about your past or present manager, your fellow employees, or the company you are working for even if they are true.
Do not even hint at the fact that you hated your manger and avoid sarcastic remarks. Remember, the interviewer does not know your previous manager or fellow employees.
19. What are some of the things that you and your supervisor have disagreed about?
Shifting priorities is usually the main reason for any type of disagreement. I may be working on a project that has a tight deadline and my supervisor may pull me from that project to work on something else. It can be frustrating to stop working on a project after I have built up a great deal of momentum only and to switch gears on the fly and start on something completely different.
20. What do you feel your weaknesses are?
Do not confess to any work-related weaknesses. The interviewer is simply trying to find out where you feel that you need improvement, but do not confess to having any weaknesses. Instead, tell them of a weakness that is actually a strength. Keep your answer very short and to the point.
21. What are your long term career goals?
This is a good chance to tell the interviewer how you progressed through your career, how you started and where you are at, today, and that you are right on track. Be specific and to the point.
22. Why have you left your last job?
Give a positive answer no matter what happened at your last job. Do not mention that there are issues with management or their products as this is only your opinion. Do not spend a lot of time on this question as you may give the interviewer reason to doubt your story.
23. What was your favorite job and why did you like it?
If at all possible, tell the interviewer of a job that is similar to the one for which you are applying. Do not tell the interviewer that you liked your last job because you could wear jeans everyday and you are applying at company that has a formal dress code.
24. Did you ever have a boss that you did not like or get along with?
No, my past boss and I got along very well. We were always on the same page with where the business was going. We shared a lot about our personal lives and formed a strong bond.
25. What are the duties of a project coordinator?
Project Coordinator Job Duties:
☛ Accomplishes work requirements by orienting, training, assigning, scheduling, and coaching employees.
☛ Meets work standards by following production, productivity, quality, and customer-service standards; resolving operational problems; identifying work process improvements.
☛ Meets cost standards by monitoring expenses; implementing cost-saving actions.
☛ Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications.
☛ Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
