From PM to Powerhouse: Interviewing for Executive-Level Project Management Roles
This session reframes the interview process as the moment senior project managers either prove or fail to prove that they are ready to lead at the executive level. Participants will work through a structured 2.5-hour live workshop that drills the four competencies hiring committees consistently weight when filling Senior Manager, Director, and Head of PMO roles: strategic thinking, executive presence, stakeholder influence, and financial acumen. Attendees will leave with a printed toolkit, four practiced answers in their own voice, and a 30-60-90 day executive vision they can pull into any final-round interview.
Learning Objectives:
• Attendees will be able to identify the four executive-level competencies hiring committees weight most heavily when filling senior PM roles and self-assess their current readiness against each.
• Attendees will be able to apply the STARE framework (Situation, Tactic, Action, Result, Executive Insight) to translate tactical project examples into outcome-led interview answers that signal senior leadership.
• Attendees will be able to construct a 30-60-90 day executive vision response that demonstrates strategic thinking, stakeholder acumen, and business judgment in a final-round interview.
Meet Cassandra Taylor, the Director of Professional Development and Training, a seasoned project management leader, and the founder of training programs that have helped hundreds of project managers move from execution to leadership. With nearly a decade of hands-on PM experience across Fortune 500 environments — including her time at Hershey — Cassandra has built her teaching around what actually moves the needle in real PM work: stakeholder management, executive presence, and the discipline of leading without authority.
Cassandra is known for translating complex PM concepts into practical, accessible coaching for senior practitioners. Her signature framing — "you're the conductor of the orchestra," "stay ready so you don't have to get ready," and "you have to know your worth" — has become a throughline for the project managers she mentors into Director-level and Head of PMO roles. She is passionate about preparing the next generation of senior PMs, particularly those breaking through ceilings, returning from career breaks, or stepping into executive-level interviews for the first time.
