What is this?
Most Management Consultants use scenario based interviewing techniques these days in order to select Project Management recruits. The technique involves setting candidates a Case Study Scenario which describes a typical hypothetical situation which a candidate would typically find themselves in as a Project Manager in the employers’ organisation. The scenario requires the candidate to participate in a role play situation as a Project Manager and to deliver a presentation seeking some kind of approval from the role play delegates who are assuming “gate keeper” roles.
Why it’s useful?
The scenario and its presentation objectives are primarily designed to explore the depths of a candidate’s practical Project Management skill /experience and their abilities to think on their feet and to work under pressure.
It is also useful for the following additional reasons: –
- Assesses a candidate’s presentation skills.
- Demonstrates a candidates solutioning capabilities.
- Shows up text book only domain knowledge and experience.
- Can give strong behavioural and cultural fit indicators when the role play delegates become more confrontational.
- Helps the candidate decide whether they should accept an offer because the scenario represents a typical situation the candidate would expect to find themselves in as a Project Manager with the new employer.
How to use it?
Use this technique to run second round face to face interviews with the objective of filtering out the best candidates for final interview. To get the most out of this kind of interview make sure you do the following: –
- Keep the presentation time short in order to see how the candidate handle time pressures.
- Make sure the presentation preparation time is short in order to see how the candidate handles time constraints and an inability to address all of the scenario objectives.
- Make sure one or more of the role play delegates take a confrontational approach with the candidates in order to drive out a candidate’s attitudinal and behavioural characteristics.
- Can give strong behavioural and cultural fit indicators when the role play delegates become more confrontational.
- Helps the candidate decide whether they should accept an offer because the scenario represents a typical situation the candidate would expect to find themselves in as a Project Manager with the new employer.
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