Preparing for an interview at Huntington Bancshares requires a strategic approach that balances your technical delivery expertise with your interpersonal leadership skills. You should review your past projects and prepare to discuss them using structured frameworks.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must demonstrate a deep understanding of project management methodologies, including Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall. Be prepared to explain how you apply these frameworks within a financial institution to manage budgets, resources, and timelines effectively.

Problem-Solving Ability – Interviewers will evaluate how you handle unexpected obstacles, such as resource constraints, technical debt, or shifting business priorities. You should focus on showing a methodical, data-driven approach to solving complex project challenges.

Leadership & Influence – As a Project Manager, you must influence cross-functional teams without having formal authority over them. Be ready to share examples of how you build trust, drive consensus, and maintain team momentum under pressure.

Cultural Alignment – Huntington Bancshares places a strong emphasis on its core values, particularly its customer-centric "Welcome" philosophy. You should highlight how your project management decisions ultimately benefit the end-user and support the bank's community-focused mission.

The interview process at Huntington Bancshares is designed to be efficient and direct, focusing on your practical delivery experience and cultural fit. Understanding the structure of the loop will help you pace your preparation and build momentum.

The process typically begins with a standard recruiter phone screen to review your background, salary expectations, and basic qualifications. Following this initial conversation, you will move into the core interview stages, which are primarily conducted remotely. This remote setup offers scheduling flexibility, allowing you to interface with different team members seamlessly.

The core loop consists of several rounds with the hiring manager, key peers, and occasionally senior directors. These conversations will delve into your project management philosophy, past successes, and behavioral competencies. While the process is streamlined, you may encounter panels where some interviewers are remote or balancing tight schedules, meaning you must be highly engaging and concise to capture their attention.

The timeline above outlines the typical progression from your initial application to the final offer stage. Candidates should use this sequence to plan their deep dives into behavioral stories and methodology reviews. While the sequence is standard, the exact number of peer interviews can vary depending on the specific business unit you are joining.

To stand out during the interview process, you must excel in the specific areas that Huntington Bancshares prioritizes when assessing project management talent.

Stakeholder Management & Communication

Managing communication across diverse business units is a foundational requirement for this role. You will frequently work with busy executives, technical engineers, and compliance officers who have competing priorities.

Be ready to go over:

• Executive reporting – How to synthesize complex project data into high-level status updates for leadership.
• Influencing without authority – Strategies for driving alignment among cross-functional teams that do not report to you.
• Managing remote stakeholders – Techniques for keeping distributed team members engaged and accountable.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Handling hostile stakeholders, managing vendor relationships, and aligning external consultants with internal project goals.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you handle a critical project sponsor who has stopped responding to status updates?"
• "Describe a time when you had to align three different departments with conflicting goals on a single initiative."

Project Delivery & Methodology

Your technical execution capabilities are under constant evaluation. You need to prove that you can deliver projects on time, within scope, and on budget while navigating the constraints of a regional bank.

Be ready to go over:

• Risk management – Proactive identification of project bottlenecks, compliance risks, and technical dependencies.
• Scope management – Establishing clear boundaries and handling change requests systematically.
• Resource allocation – Balancing team capacity and budget constraints to optimize delivery.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Managing multi-million dollar budgets, cross-portfolio dependency mapping, and transitioning legacy teams to Agile frameworks.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you construct a risk mitigation plan for a high-priority regulatory project."
• "How do you handle a situation where your lead developer is pulled onto another critical issue mid-sprint?"

Adaptability & Financial Domain Expertise

Operating in a banking environment requires a unique blend of agility and adherence to strict regulatory guidelines. You must demonstrate that you can adapt to changing priorities without compromising compliance.

Be ready to go over:

• Regulatory compliance – Integrating audit, security, and legal checkpoints into your delivery lifecycle.
• Agile transformation – Leading agile practices within historically waterfall banking environments.
• Business acumen – Understanding how project outcomes tie directly to the bank's financial performance and customer experience.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you ensure a project remains compliant with banking regulations without significantly slowing down the delivery timeline?"
• "Describe a time when a sudden shift in market conditions or regulations forced you to pivot your entire project strategy."