Got an interview coming up? Applying for the post of construction manager? Worried about how the interview will go? Look no further, for you, we have compiled a list of the top 21 questions that would probably pop up in your interview this year. These questions help the interviewer assess how whether you have the knowledge required to be a construction manager.
Construction Manager Question and Answers
1) Tell us about yourself?
This is going to be, probably the first question the interviewer asks you. You should take this opportunity to introduce yourself and state the essentials about yourself. Like your name, education, work experience.
Sample answer
” My name is (your name), I am from (your hometown). I have completed my (your qualification), from (the institution you achieved your qualification from). In the previous years, I’ve worked at/for (your previous work experience). I am good at (your strengths).”
2) How do you prioritise your tasks?
A construction manager is responsible for the prioritisation of tasks within the given project. You have to answer this question with care, as, if you don’t answer with confidence and responsibility it could be a bad sign and it could make the interviewer think of you as a bad construction manager.
3) What are the essential skills for a construction manager?
The answer to this question is pretty simple. All you need to do is state the essential qualities needed for a construction manager.
Sample Answer
” Team management, communication, prioritizing, planning, risk management, quality management, safety and health regulation. These are the essential skills every construction manager should have under his belt.”
4) What according to you is an ideal project?
This question would define what kind of projects you would like to work on and excel at. This question can not have an ideal answer, because it is heavily dependent upon how you like to work. The answer should include details like whether you are interested in creative projects or not, what kind of deadlines do you prefer, if you like working as a team or working alone. Answering this question can majorly benefit you as it would give you your desired projects.
5) Could you tell us about your strengths and your weaknesses?
This is a question that lets the company know what kind of a person you are and what environment would suit you best. An interviewee who fails to answer this question is seen to lack self-awareness, which could be viewed as a bad sign. You should answer this question very honestly; because if you try to hide your weaknesses the company interviewer might pin you as a dishonest person. You have to be a little modest while stating your strengths and confident while stating your weaknesses.
6) What is construction management?
This might seem like a basic question but is very important to answer well. as it tells how familiar you are with what you have to do.
Sample Answer
” Construction management is the supervision of designing and implementation of various projects, with regards to this it is to also keep in mind the time limit and the set budget. It involves the coordination of material and human resources from start to end. To sum it up at once, construction management includes integration, scope, time frame, quality, team, risk management, procurement and budget management.”
7) How do you prioritize task?
Prioritisation is an important part of construction management because as a construction manager you have to prioritise all tasks within the project. If you fail to answer this it could be a sign that you are unfamiliar with the means and methods to do this, and your chances of getting hired can be brought down by a major margin.
8) Tell us about the past projects that you’ve worked on?
This question is where you boast about your skills and experience. Tell the interviewer about the problems that have arrived in the past projects and how you solved or helped to solve them.
9) Tell us about a time where you’ve faced failure in the past?
It can be thought that telling that you’ve never encountered failure in the past will be the best option. However, it will be the worst option. Failure is a part of the career and this question is asked to ascertain your risk management skills. So, state your past failure and how you dealt with it to minimise the risk and expenses from it.
10) What are the projects that you would not prefer to do?
You can answer this question by telling what kind of environment you are not good at working in. Also, you can let the interviewer know what your specialty is, what projects lets you excel and which do not.
11) What are the steps involved in construction management from start to end?
This is to ascertain if you understand the compilation of a project and the prioritisation of tasks. The interviewer will also be on the lookout for how detail-oriented you are, how you communicate yourself and what position do you see yourself in.
12) Explain the concept of RAID?
Sample Answer
“RAID stand for risks, actions, issues and dependencies. RAID is a tool for managers to track risk, actions, issues and dependencies. Once you’ve done RAID analysis, it is stored in the RAID log. A RAID log organizes your risks, assumptions, issues, and dependencies and they can be referred to whenever needed.”
13) How do you approach leadership?
This question will test your awareness. Hence you must familiarise yourself with the type of leadership styles there are and the one that suits you well.
14) How do you make sure to deliver customer expectation?
Customer satisfaction is an important thing and is one of the things that might make or break your chances at the interview. you should not provide a very vague answer to this question. you should provide a detailed answer, and your answer should include the processes.
15) How do you go about delegation?
This is a question about your leadership skills. Explain what has worked best for you in the past with examples. If you’ve never lead a team before giving past examples when you’ve delegated before can be of help.
16) What would you do if something goes wrong in a project?
Sample Answer
” After we realise that we are behind in scope, time, budget or goals, the next step would be to get the project on track as soon as possible. For that, we would have to be efficient and reach the planned progress from the actual progress. It would require re-adjusting resources, finding the reason for off-tracking, and putting in more work to make up for it.”
17) What are the things to consider while structuring a team?
This gives the interviewer information about what you value in a team. They can better understand how you work with your team and which kind of people you work best with.
18) What is the documentation necessary before the starting of a construction project?
Sample answer
” It depends on the type of construction project. Some of them are planning, permission, permit to work, fire safety, toxic substances, advertisement consent, certificate of established use, certificate of immunity from listing, environmental impact assessment, lawful development certificate, hazardous substance consent.”
19) What action would you take if your workers aren’t taking the proper safety measure?
Safety is an important matter for companies and they would be looking for a manager who takes safety seriously and makes it a priority.
20) Explain the difference between risk and issues?
Sample Answer
“Risk refers to an uncertain event that the future might bring, it can be positive or negative. Issues are situations that are currently affecting our project.”
21) How do you imagine a day at work ?
Do not answer it as if you’d be laid back in an A.C. cabin, handing out all the work to your subordinates. Tell them that you plan to be on the site looking after the implementation of plans. That is what they are essentially are looking for in a candidate.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this list. I hope you follow and practise these tips well and get the job of your dreams, do remember these points are important as they can cost you that new shiny job you’ve been looking forward to. Do mention your feedback about the list in the comment section, and also share the article with your friends if you liked it.
Download the list of questions in .PDF format, to practice with them later, or to use them on your interview template (for Construction Manager interviews):
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3141/2268-05
- https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/41109(373)83
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
I am a full-time professional blogger, a digital marketer, and a trainer. I love anything related to the Web, and I try to learn new technologies every day.
All the team management, content creation, and monetization tasks are handled by me. Together with the team at PrepMyCareer, the aim is to provide useful and engaging content to our readers.