PM Interview: Tips and Tricks to Learn and Excel at Project Manager Job Interviews

By Jefferey Michaels

Learn smart tricks and techniques needed to nail a project manager interview and finally get your dream job!

Have you been called for PM interviews and left them feeling that you are failing miserably every time?

Are you wondering what the selected candidates know about project management that you don't?

Are y

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goodworks publishing
• Release date: Jul 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088229712

Book preview

Introduction

My life would be so much better if they weren’t in it. If you find yourself thinking this a lot, chances are you’re dealing with a particularly difficult person who has made it their life’s mission to bother you. While you’d think that getting rid of that one person will solve all your problems, you’ll most likely encounter someone else just like them sometime in the future.

Difficult people are everywhere, and there’s no escaping them. Thinking that you can get rid of people you dislike is just wishful thinking. After all, can you really get rid of your boss or your in-laws?

Instead of avoiding them or cutting them out of your life, changing your approach to dealing with difficult people is the correct way to go about this problem. However, this book doesn’t guarantee that you’ll never have a problem with a difficult person again. On the contrary, life's problems, arguments, and disputes are quite inevitable. You’re bound to come across people who disagree with you and have no room for personal growth. At this point, instead of getting frustrated, you should opt for healthy ways to deal with such people, which is what this book is all about.

Many people will argue that it is best to simply walk away from a difficult or toxic person, but in real-life situations, that is not so easy to do. While you can walk away from a rude shop owner or an annoying customer, you can’t really do that with a family member or a friend. The best approach to deal with these people is to first understand the reason behind their behavior. However, understanding someone else’s behavior does not help you change it, but it will help you have a better, more appropriate reaction.

These next chapters will help you learn how to deal with every kind of difficult personality out there. There are many types of people you can call difficult. For instance, an annoying coworker can be difficult for you because they tend to argue about stupid things; for another person, their lab partner might seem difficult because they refuse to do their part in class assignments.

The point is that there are all kinds of difficult people, including pushy people, self-centered individuals, and rigid personalities, and you should know how to deal with them.

Chapter 1

Difficult People

Difficult behaviors impede the performance of others. When they go unchecked, it gets worse, and people suffer as a consequence. Difficult people often exhibit behaviors that make life challenging for others. They instigate conflict and show no remorse for their wrongdoings. Their actions have negative consequences at work and in social gatherings. When you say someone is difficult, it’s their behavior that makes them difficult, and when they change those negative behaviors, it’s as if they were reborn. Some difficult behaviors are unintentional, but others are deliberate. It happens sporadically at times, surprising everyone. Difficult behavior can become an occasional habit. These manifest in various ways, including harassing others, yelling, being rude, refusing to talk, ignoring people, foot-dragging, disregarding authority, gossiping, etc.

People exhibit these behaviors when they want something or when they are deprived of it. You could say that difficult behavior stems from a desire and quest for self-recognition. The majority of conflicts caused by difficult behavior are due to unmet psychological or physical needs. Difficult behaviors are primarily motivated by a psychological need for respect, affection, recognition, and control. Demanding these needs isn’t the issue; it’s how you go about achieving them that counts, especially if difficult behavior has previously been an effective means. For example, if people give in when they’re intimidated, difficult people will always see it as a viable option. Rewarding such strategies will only encourage them. Difficult behavior is expected when you lose your cool in the heat of an argument or lack the necessary communication skills to express your feelings. You can work on yourself if you exhibit difficult behaviors or learn how to deal with people who frustrate you with their difficult behaviors. Keep in mind that the problem is with the behavior, not the person. Finding a solution to the toxicity may take some time, but it is essential for having peaceful relationships with others.

What It Means to Be a Difficult Person

People frequently associate this personality with being wicked, cunning, manipulative, and mean. A difficult person loses restraint and self-control at the slightest provocation and inflicts pain on others. Unstable emotions will lead to bad decisions. As a difficult person, you make decisions in the spur of the moment, which almost always ends up affecting the people around you. They always intend to make every topic about themselves and become easily irritated if the conversation does not involve praising them. It will be a hard task to please a difficult person because they will find fault with every kind gesture. When dealing with people, there are chains of negative energies playing like tapes, causing you to react to everything they do with emotions instead of logic. Difficult people perceive others to be tough and are always charged with a fighting fist, even when there is no fight to be had. A difficult person is almost always seen as untrustworthy and finds fulfillment in inflicting negativity on others because it appears to be the only way to get what they want.

The irony is that a difficult person sees everyone else as difficult. You can tell if you are the difficult one by how people react to you or how freely they express themselves around you. It should be strange to find fault with everyone you work with or have a relationship with; if this is a recurring experience, you may need to look inward. Check to see if people are performing at their best when you are around or if you are the reason behind problems. Having a difficult personality affects your personal life and the people in it. People who respect you should not be afraid of you. Your difficult behavior instills fear in those under your authority or causes your superiors to avoid having a direct working relationship with you. When it comes to getting what you want, being difficult means not being considerate of others. You are willing to step on your toes and hurt anyone who stands in your way. A difficult person does not consider other people’s opinions. Simply put, difficult people make life miserable for those around them.

Being a difficult person entails engaging in socially unacceptable, problematic, and challenging behaviors. People may avoid you because of these characteristics. This type of behavior can be harmful to you or your loved ones. Actions such as refusing to go to work because they believe they are above being disciplined, shutting down friends and coworkers during conversations because they believe that their opinion is the best, and not checking in on loved ones because they believe they should receive all their attention are clear indicators of a difficult person. Different people will have various perceptions of you, but one thing remains constant: everything they do or say is to please themselves. Shouting, name-calling, using abusive language, threatening, screaming, arguing, pointing angrily at someone’s face, clenching your fist, walking away from the conversation, remaining silent when you shouldn’t, and contorting your face in an intimidating manner can all trigger these negative behaviors.

Traits That Difficult People May Have

It isn't easy to deal with someone who frustrates you on a daily basis, especially if you have to work with them or live in the same apartment. Identifying their characteristics will help you navigate any difficult situation they put you in. It will simply be like foreseeing their actions before they take them. This difficult person could be a family member, colleague, client, or customer, which means you must keep them around no matter what. When you don’t understand what’s happening with them, it can frustrate you even more, so becoming acquainted with these traits can help you cope with their difficult behavior.

The following are some characteristics that difficult people may possess:

Dominance

Antagonistic people use dominance to control others, making everyone else subject to their decisions. Natural dominance is not negative or evil, but when it is used to get away with things, it becomes a problem that can lead people to avoid you. The situation becomes more difficult if your superior has a domineering personality. Difficult people like this make a habit out of influencing and controlling everyone else as if they were power drunk.

Manipulation

Manipulators will do whatever it takes to get what they want from others. It is unhealthy to constantly manipulate the emotions and behaviors of others for your own gain. Difficult people use this trait to deceive and bypass logic to achieve their selfish goals. This is a problematic behavior that almost all antagonistic people exhibit.

Suspicion

Difficult people have trust issues and tend to doubt everyone and everything, even when they haven’t seen any reason to doubt. Suspicion can help one be extra cautious and prudent in certain situations, but when it becomes a means of creating chaos and destabilizing an organization, it is considered toxic. Difficult people use this trait to raise conspiracy theories, causing harm to others in the process.

Aggression

This includes hostility, forceful behavior, and violence. People like this don’t care what other people think of them, they don’t want your friendship, and peace is out of the question. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t disagree or argue with people, but becoming violent and hurtful makes you toxic to others. Aggression instills fear in people, and using it to scare others to obtain what you desire makes you a difficult person.

Grandiosity

When you have a false sense of superiority, you may disregard limits and rules, dismiss others, and brag about feeling relevant. Don’t mistake this for healthy self-esteem because it asserts superiority to demonstrate that you are unique and more