Population Services International Project Manager Interview Questions
& Process

I applied quickly after seeing the job posting. Two weeks later, I had a phone interview with HR who explained the role, pay, and benefits, and asked standard questions like teamwork skills. They mentioned referring me for an in-person interview. Someone scheduled me for a 2-hour interview, but then extended it to 3 hours the day before. It ended up being 4 hours. The in-person involved two groups I'd work with and included Excel and writing tests. The interview with the finance group was good; they were nice, asked relevant questions, and answered mine well, focusing on my Excel skills and motivation. The first group was a mixed bag. One interviewer was texting during my interview. They were generally nice, asking about teamwork, international development, and the region. However, they didn't really answer my questions about handling unexpected issues in countries, seeming to evade them. After the skills test, I was told I'd hear back the next week, but I never did. I took another job that week, so I didn't follow up, but I also never got a rejection.

I was contacted for a phone interview and one week later, offered an in person interview in DC. I had to cover travel costs from Indiana, but decided it would be better to go to DC than to do the interview over Skype (this was offered). Following the in person interview, I had a third interview by phone because they were having trouble making a decision. I was asked to commit for at least 2 years to the position. They ended up offering the job to the other finalist because she was an internal hire (already an intern there).

I applied online and also sent my application to an internal contact, which I heard can be helpful at PSI. Within about two weeks, an HR person called me for a phone interview. We talked about why I want to work at PSI and how my recent experience lines up with the job. Less than a week after that, I got invited for an in-person interview. There were three people there – one person actually had the job I was going for, and the other two worked in the same department. They were all super nice and professional. The first part lasted about an hour, and we discussed my past experiences, my career goals, how I thought I'd fit the role, and what working at PSI is like. Then, the second part involved a test in Excel, a writing test, and a budget test. This part was a bit challenging, but it was also kind of fun and interesting because the tests weren't the typical generic ones companies usually give.