I was wondering, what kind of skills would you value in someone who would be interning in project management?

As a project manager, you will be accountable and responsible for delivering a project within budget, with quality, and in time. That is, project managers are responsible for initiating, designing, planning, executing, monitoring and completing projects.

I think one of the key skills that are of value when performing a project management function include being organised, as you will have to coordinate several activities and assure the desired outcome on all of them. It is also valuable to educate yourself on project management best practices ahead of time (for example, risk management, time management, budget management), and if possible acquire some knowledge on the technical area of the projects you will be managing. Probably also it would be good if you are able to multitask, as project manager’s days are usually quite busy, and sometimes you need to prioritise urgent and important tasks. And you need to have strong analytical and reporting skills, because as a project manager you will be expected to collect information throughout the life-cycle of the project and report on progress, objectives and deliverables to all key stakeholders, including your management, other team members, and of course the client.

Last but not least, because you will be working with people, it is also positive to have communication skills, ability to be a strong leader, and competences for effective problem-solving and negotiating. And because the success factor of a project delivery must be aligned with the client of your project, it will be important to have customer focus, understand customer’s requirements and needs, and be able to manage their expectations.

Good question! I think the intern's attitude is the most important thing even if they don’t know enough yet. It is important to be eager to learn. Project management is like conducting an orchestra, you need to see and understand both the little details and the big picture. It is rewarding when you see the whole project going forward, from the start to the finish.