Select the right project manager with our IT Hiring Kit

by Guest Contributor | Jul 20, 2004 4:08:00 PM

Tags: Guest Contributor

Takeaway: Hiring the right project manager can be a daunting task. To help you ask the right questions and improve the efficiency of your hiring process, we've created this powerful tool to automate the paperwork and help you through each stage of the process.

IT professionals specializing in project management are a key element of any enterprise’s tech staff. Not only must they thoroughly understand various technologies and systems, they must possess a wide range of technical expertise, have strong communication and organizational abilities, and show exceptional team management skills.

To help you hire the best people for these critical project management roles, our IT Hiring Kit: Project Manager provides several unique tools and documents that guide you through the process, from listing a job opening to the final steps of notifying candidates that the role has been filled.

Understanding the role and skills

The first tool is a sample classified ad to use when posting this position on Monster.com (or other job-related Web sites) or in newspapers. We've crafted the ad to align with the job description, making it easier for you to find the right candidates. Along with the ad we've put together a ready-to-use job description that lists all the skills the perfect Project Manager candidate is expected to have, as well as the duties that person is expected to carry out. By using this job description as a guide, you can efficiently review candidates' resumes and determine which candidates to invite for an interview.

That’s where the next tool in the pack—a comprehensive list of interview questions—comes in very handy.

The right questions to ask

Our tool provides in-depth interview questions, including both general questions that are necessary to ask any job candidate, and specific project management questions—such as experience with work plans, organizational approaches, and the ability to adhere to project timelines and budgets.

By using this interview-question guide you can ensure that you’ll ask all the important questions. And, once you’ve selected and mapped out the questions you want answered, it’s time to use the assessment sheet that helps you clearly see whether a candidate possesses the project management skills and expertise you’re looking for.

A thorough assessment

This unique candidate assessment spreadsheet (Figure A) is aligned with the job interview questions document. It also ties in with the candidate letter offer and rejection letter templates included in this package of tools. We've included each interview question on the candidate assessment sheet tabs so you can rate the candidates' responses to each question.

Figure A

Candidate Assessment spreadsheet

As skill requirements for a project manager can be diverse, the assessment tool provides room for questions you may want to include that aren’t on the interview questions document. This weighted spreadsheet allows you to enter information about the candidates and keep track of the leading ones—and ultimately helps you decide which candidate is the best fit for your team.

The spreadsheet also makes it very easy to use the final tools in the hiring process—sending out the candidate rejection letters and a job offer letter. In addition, you will get a PDF with three full-length articles on the specifics of hiring a project manager.

Hiring a competent project manager is crucial to keeping an enterprise’s infrastructure strong and stable as the organization continues to implement new technology as part of its business efforts. Order the IT Hiring Kit: Project Manager to help in this critical effort. This comprehensive pack provides all the necessary information and serves as a valuable tool for hiring project managers.