What’s your ideal PM role?

This question "What’s your ideal PM role?" is meant to explore your vision for the perfect project management job. The interviewer really wants to understand your key interests within the broad domain of project management. Are you leaning more towards strategic roles, operational roles, or customer relations? What kind of projects would you like to manage? Are you interested in working in a particular industry or for a large-scale organization? All these aspects determine your ideal role.

Here are a few guiding points to construct your answer:

1. Reflect on your experiences and identify the aspects that motivated you the most in your PM role.
2. Describe the nature of the projects that you prefer managing.
3. Discuss your desired level of responsibility and autonomy.
4. Talk about your preferred workstyle – in a team, independently, or as a leader.
5. Recognize any specific industries you are interested in.

My ideal project management role is one where I can utilize my analytical skills to solve complex problems. Specifically, I am intrigued by tech-driven projects that are focused on developing innovative solutions. I want a role that challenges me, pushing to manage various elements like resources, timelines, risk, and stakeholders. Additionally, I prefer taking complete ownership of my projects, of course while being open to team input, which allows me to craft effective strategies that drive successful outcomes. My experiences to date, especially in the IT and digital sectors, have steered my interests toward these types of roles.

An ideal PM role for me would be one that eagerly engages in stakeholder interaction. I enjoy establishing relationships with clients, understanding their needs, and ensuring these requirements are converted into productive output. Also, the diversity in projects keeps the job intriguing for me, so I see myself thriving in an environment where the nature of projects varies from technology to infrastructure, or even CSR initiatives. Over the years, primarily managing multi-disciplinary projects has broadened my vision and reinforced my ability to adapt, which further underlines my preference for varied roles."