Five Keys to Project Interview Success

Interviewing is a critical skill that must be developed to stay competitive in this challenging market.

By Hilari Weinstein

Few things cause greater panic in a project manager, superintendent or estimator than the words “Project Interview Presentation. “

Having worked with interview teams for many years, I have heard my share of creative excuses to avoid participating in interviews. One fellow got so nervous he’d break out in a profuse sweat, soaking his shirt during presentations. One project manager nearly turned green and rushed out, leaving the rest of the team to continue without him. One estimator had an amazing number of “family illnesses” coincide with interviews.

Most professionals in this business love to build and aren’t natural presenters. Presenting has, for many, become a necessary evil in the construction business.

For Dallas-based Joe Lindeman, vice president and business group leader for the Walsh Group, interviewing to get work is relatively a new thing – something that has come about in the past two years.

“This is all new to us – building water projects,” he says

Interviewing is not new to Mike Scott, Austin Commercial vice president, based in Dallas. “We’ve been presenting for 20 years. We get 90% of our work through qualification-based selection.”

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I visited recently with Mike Frisbie, city engineer and director of capital improvement management services for the city of San Antonio. Below are the four biggest mistakes he has seen presentation teams make in project interviews:

• Not directly answering the questions posed in the short-list notification letter and not answering them in the order listed. This makes it difficult for the selection panel to award points to the team.

• Not letting the key project personnel make a majority of the presentation.

• Failure to demonstrate past project successes on comparable projects involving the team members proposed on the project.

• Being unrehearsed and misusing the allotted time.

How do you avoid such costly mistakes?

1) Make it easy for the panel to give you points.

The panel can’t give you points for questions they don’t know you answered. And if they are taking notes, they might miss something; so help them out.

• Identify which question you are answering and restate it before providing your response. Example: “In question one you asked us to introduce our firm. Our firm is ….”

• If you are using PowerPoint, identify which question that slide is in response to.

2) Do your homework.

The presentation team needs to have a clear understanding of what it will take to build the project, what matters to the selection panel and the issues critical to the success of the project. This knowledge enables the team to speak passionately and intelligently to the questions posed in the formal presentation as well as during the Q&A.

3) Provide ample time to rehearse. It is hard to get your staff out of the field. However, when your team is uncomfortable or unprepared they are more likely to make costly mistakes that could send a negative impression to the selection panel.

4) Give your presenters the skills and tools to help them do a good job. You wouldn’t send someone onto a construction site without the tools necessary to do their job. Yet many firms fail to provide their people with the skills and tools necessary to help them skillfully interview. While marketing staff might be great at marketing and may have public speaking experience, don’t expect them to know how to coach speakers. It is a unique skill set. Consider using an experienced presentation coach.

5) Let your team members know you appreciate their efforts and value them. Most members of your presentation team may not enjoy presenting. It may be difficult for them or they may experience anxiety. When we are appreciated and valued, we are more likely to put in the extra effort and go the extra mile to make something a success.

The good news is that interviewing is a skill that can be developed. It is a skill that must be developed to stay competitive in this challenging market.