Welcome to the latest publication of Productify. 👋
Product Management as a role has been evolving, and also becoming more diverse (AI PM, Tech PM, Data PM and more). This only means that candidates today need to be even better prepared for the most common types of product manager interview rounds.
On the wild web, there are dozens (if not more) websites that would help you understand product manager interview rounds and prepare you for it, but I did not see a good comprehensive guide in one place that tells you about all kinds of common interview rounds, tips, sample questions and more.
So, I compiled one - 3,500+ words in today’s long deep-dive. Welcome, and don’t forget to forward this publication to a friend in need. 😉
In today’s issue, we tackle two aspects:
Firstly, we explain in detail each type of most common product manager interview round, with examples and how to prepare.
Secondly, in today’s issue we also go into how to stand out as a candidate. Note that all candidates have access to same resources mostly, and it becomes important to know:
How does a great PM candidate differ from an average PM candidate?
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And before we dive into today’s issue, I want you to check out a sweet deal from Product Collective, organizers of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference.
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Now let us dive into today’s newsletter i.e six kinds of common product manager interview rounds. Note that the numbering doesn’t mean that these rounds always happen in a sequence. For example, the take-home assignment is listed as #5, but in many companies it might be the second in sequence after recruiter screening. Process may change company to company.
You get an e-mail/message/call and it is a recruiter on the other side. You know what this means.
There is an opportunity ringing at your door!!
Such a reach-out often leads to a real-time call which is a recruiter screening call. This is the round that happens after the recruiter has already screened your CV/Resume and wants to check whether there is a mutual interest in moving forward.
So, most of the recruiter screening call, focuses on:
Your work experience
How it connects to the role you’re interviewing for
Why would you be good fit
Check with location of the job
Salary expectations
Note that this round is a way for you as well as recruiter to understand whether it is worth the effort to go ahead in the interview process.
It often happens that candidate is not okay with location of the job, or the recruiter cannot fulfill the salary expectations of the candidate. Or the recruiter wants to know how fast this process should run and he/she may ask if you’re in any other parallel interview rounds with other companies.
It is important to be prepared to show your interest in the role (if you want to show your fit) or be prepared to ask your questions if you do not see a fit and want to clarify further.
Two main tips for recruiter screening call:
1. If you’re interested in the role, always show confidence and make sure you clarify doubts of the recruiter. Example, if recruiter asks “we’re looking for someone who can scale our product to new countries”, then be honest but show willingness to take up this challenge positively.
You might have your own weaknesses, but always try to emphasis strengths. This can be done in answer to interviewer questions, but also can be done in your introduction.
If you’re looking for ways to tailor your product resume to fit your dream job, I wrote about it here.
This interview round checks how you take a really ambiguous problem statement and make product choices to narrow down your problem space and recommend a first MVP or an approach with certain success metrics.
This type of PM interview rounds were most popularized by FAANG companies.
There are two category of questions within Product Sense/ Product Design:
