A Project Manager at Hays plays a pivotal role in driving high-impact initiatives across both internal business operations and external client environments. As a global leader in specialist recruitment and workforce solutions, Hays relies on skilled project management professionals to oversee complex business transformations, digital product rollouts, and IT infrastructure upgrades. Whether you are embedded within an internal corporate team or deployed via Hays Solutions—the company’s dedicated consulting arm—your work will directly influence operational efficiency, service delivery, and business growth.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between strategic vision and tactical execution. You will coordinate with cross-functional teams, manage budgets, mitigate project risks, and ensure that deliverables align with key business objectives. The environment is dynamic and fast-paced, requiring a unique blend of technical project controls and exceptional stakeholder management skills.

What makes this position particularly compelling is the sheer scale and variety of the projects. You might find yourself managing a localized software implementation in Milan, coordinating a large-scale workforce transition in London, or leading a multi-million dollar transformation project for an enterprise client. For a motivated professional, this role offers an unparalleled opportunity to influence how a global FTSE 250 organization and its prestigious clients operate.

To succeed in the Hays recruitment process, you must be prepared for a structured evaluation that tests your behavioral competencies, domain knowledge, and situational judgment. The questions you will face are designed to assess how you handle real-world project challenges, manage stakeholder relationships, and apply project management methodologies.

The following categories outline the typical themes and questions reported by successful candidates.

Competency-Based & Behavioral Questions

These questions assess your past performance and behavior in key project scenarios. Interviewers look for structured answers that demonstrate your leadership, resilience, and problem-solving abilities.

• Describe a time when a project you were managing fell behind schedule. What steps did you take to bring it back on track?

Preparing for an interview at Hays requires a strategic approach that balances technical expertise with strong interpersonal communication. Because Hays operates as both a corporate entity and a client-facing consultancy, you must demonstrate that you can adapt your style to suit different audiences, from internal executives to external corporate clients.

To stand out, focus your preparation on the core criteria that Hays interviewers value most:

Role-Related Knowledge – You must showcase a deep understanding of project management principles, lifecycle stages, and governance frameworks. Be prepared to discuss how you apply specific methodologies (such as Agile, Prince2, or Scrum) to solve practical delivery challenges.

Problem-Solving & Structure – Interviewers will evaluate how you approach complex, ambiguous situations. Use structured frameworks to explain your decision-making process, demonstrating that you rely on data, risk assessment, and strategic alignment to guide your projects.

Stakeholder Management & Leadership – A successful Project Manager at Hays must be able to influence without authority. You will need to show how you build trust, manage expectations, negotiate compromises, and keep diverse teams motivated and aligned.

Culture Fit & Resilience – The recruitment and consulting sectors are fast-moving and subject to rapid change. You should demonstrate adaptability, proactivity, and a resilient mindset when facing project roadblocks or shifting business requirements.

The interview process for a Project Manager position at Hays is structured, transparent, and designed to evaluate both your technical execution capabilities and your behavioral alignment with the company's values. Depending on the specific office location and whether the role is internal or client-facing (such as a freelance role through Hays Solutions), the process typically spans two to three stages.

The journey begins with an initial screening call with a Hays Talent Acquisition specialist or recruiter. This conversation focuses on your career background, motivations for applying, salary expectations, and overall alignment with the role. For some locations, particularly in the UK, this stage may also include an online application featuring short scenario-based questions to filter candidates early in the process.

Subsequent stages dive deeper into your practical capabilities. You will undergo a structured Competency-Based Interview (CBI) with the hiring line manager, where you will face targeted questions about your past experiences. Many candidates also complete a practical task, such as preparing a brief presentation based on a project scenario, followed by a panel Q&A with senior subject matter experts. If you are being interviewed for a consulting or contract role, a final video call with the ultimate end client is standard to ensure a perfect fit.

This visual timeline illustrates the typical progression from your initial application to the final decision. While the exact steps can vary slightly by region—for instance, some European locations place heavier emphasis on client matching early on—most candidates will complete this process within two to four weeks. Use this timeline to pace your preparation, ensuring you allocate sufficient time to practice your presentation and refine your behavioral examples before the final rounds.

To excel in your interviews, you must understand the specific competencies Hays evaluates at each stage. The assessment is designed to look past generic resume bullet points and uncover how you actually operate under pressure.

Competency-Based Interviewing (CBI)

The CBI is a cornerstone of the Hays evaluation process. Interviewers use this structured technique to understand how your past behavior predicts your future performance. They will assess your leadership, communication, conflict resolution, and delivery capabilities.

Be ready to go over:

• The STAR Method – Structuring every behavioral answer by clearly defining the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
• Conflict Resolution – Specific examples of how you navigated team friction or misaligned stakeholder expectations.
• Overcoming Project Failure – Demonstrating accountability and detailing the exact steps you took to salvage a failing initiative.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to deliver a project with extremely tight resource constraints. How did you optimize your team's output?"
• "Describe a situation where you had to influence a senior stakeholder who did not agree with your project strategy."

Scenario Analysis & Presentations

In the final stages, you will often be asked to complete a practical task or answer scenario-based questions. This is designed to simulate the day-to-day challenges of a Project Manager and evaluate your real-time strategic thinking, communication style, and presentation skills.

Be ready to go over:

• Project Recovery Plans – How to analyze a troubled project scenario and quickly formulate a corrective action plan.
• Risk Mitigation – Identifying potential bottlenecks in a project brief and presenting proactive solutions.
• Clear Communication – Translating complex project data into clear, actionable insights for senior executives or clients.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "You are presented with a case study of an IT migration project that is over budget and missing key milestones. Present your 30-day recovery plan."
• "How would you structure a kickoff presentation for a new, high-priority client project with a highly skeptical team?"

Client & Stakeholder Management

For roles within Hays Solutions or client-facing consulting positions, your ability to manage external clients is critical. You must prove that you can act as a trusted advisor, protect project scope, and maintain strong professional relationships.

Be ready to go over:

• Scope Management – Politely but firmly managing scope creep while maintaining a positive relationship with the client.
• Expectation Setting – Establishing clear communication cadences and delivery baselines from day one.
• Consultative Approach – Understanding the client's broader business goals, not just the immediate project deliverables.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you handle a client who insists on adding new features to a product launch without extending the timeline or budget?"
• "Describe a time you had to rebuild trust with a client after a major project deliverable was missed."

As a Project Manager at Hays, your day-to-day activities will revolve around structured execution, continuous communication, and proactive problem-solving. While the exact deliverables will vary depending on your specific project assignment, your core responsibilities will include:

• End-to-End Project Delivery – Leading projects through all lifecycle stages, from initial feasibility studies and business case development to execution, testing, and formal closure.
• Stakeholder Collaboration – Acting as the primary point of contact for project sponsors, business analysts, technical teams, and external clients to ensure seamless alignment and expectation management.
• Resource & Budget Management – Allocating project resources efficiently, tracking financial spend, and managing budgets ranging from localized allocations to major enterprise investments.
• Risk & Issue Management – Maintaining comprehensive risk registers, identifying potential delivery roadblocks early, and implementing effective mitigation strategies.
• Governance & Reporting – Establishing robust project governance structures, conducting regular status meetings, and delivering clear progress reports to steering committees and executive leadership.