How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
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Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#2> Prove you can prioritise
Of all the PMs I've worked with personally, this has been the single largest problem. A PM that has patience and knows how to pick and stick to the most important thing until it's done is worth their weight in gold. It takes balls, because priorities always seem to change from day to day, management applies pressure to the PMs to get more done than is realistic, and engineers are fickle and perfectionist and usually slower than they predict. I've seen a good PM walk this line, but people who can do it are rare. I'll take someone who really can do the job of prioritizing well over someone who knows a lot any day.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#3[deleted]
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#4"...what the product is, what it’s used for, what problem it solves and how it solves it"
Have you seen some tech websites? I used to research competitors as part of my prior job and some of the tech websites out there do a really bad job of explaining what their product IS, much less what it DOES.
For those of you here on the flipside, make sure your website explains WHAT you do, and more importantly, WHY I should care enough to call you and give you money. When I'm dealing with potential vendors/technology partners I am 100% more likely to call a company that tells me why I should care up front than a company that's blowing smoke on their website and doesn't want to tell me why I should care until I call them and talk to a sales rep.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#5> Prove you can prioritise Of all the PMs I've worked with personally, this has been the single largest problem. A PM that has patience and knows how to pick and stick to the most important thing until it's done is worth their weight in gold. It takes balls, because priorities always seem to change from day to day, management applies pressure to the PMs to get more done than is realistic, and engineers are fickle and…
This is really true for all jobs, especially as you start managing things.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#6Brain teaser questions don't perform well in studies and should be avoided: http://qz.com/378228/google-is-over-those-ridiculous-brainte...
Google suggests doing behavioral interviews instead (which I've also been trained to do and have gotten good results). Technical interviews and such may be necessary as well, of course.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#7Brain teaser questions don't perform well in studies and should be avoided: http://qz.com/378228/google-is-over-those-ridiculous-brainte... Google suggests doing behavioral interviews instead (which I've also been trained to do and have gotten good results). Technical interviews and such may be necessary as well, of course.
When I was interviewing, I loved brain teaser/market sizing questions because they were completely formulaic and easy to ace. They test nothing but "does this person know how to answer this type of question": take your time, think out loud, come up with some type of structure, try not to screw up any basic math.
Now that I'm an interviewer, I stay away from them completely. :)
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#8Brain teaser questions don't perform well in studies and should be avoided: http://qz.com/378228/google-is-over-those-ridiculous-brainte... Google suggests doing behavioral interviews instead (which I've also been trained to do and have gotten good results). Technical interviews and such may be necessary as well, of course.
I do a lot of PM phone screens. I don't ask brain teasers but I do ask basic math problems (i.e. drake's equation type problems). They are very good for screening out candidates who won't be able to do the analytical part of the job.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#9> Prove you can prioritise Of all the PMs I've worked with personally, this has been the single largest problem. A PM that has patience and knows how to pick and stick to the most important thing until it's done is worth their weight in gold. It takes balls, because priorities always seem to change from day to day, management applies pressure to the PMs to get more done than is realistic, and engineers are fickle and…
Having worked in a couple, maybe even a few hundred RFP type B2B submissions as the Proposal Writer (aka RFP PM) the one thing that was out of my control and was most frequently the last thing completed was the actual price to put on the submission. So many stakeholders. So much drama. So many times of saying "I understand this needs to be the right price but if you miss the deadline then WE LOSE 100% of possible revenue. SEND IT TO ME NOW...please Sir/Madam..."
Comparatively speaking, the lower on the totem pole, the easier it is to get compliance. It's the higher-ups of the world who, in my opinion, tend to think of themselves as exempt from "getting with the program" until somebody pulls rank. I hate pulling rank but if the chain needs a yank, it's for the project and company, not me.
Re: How to Pass the Product Manager Interview
#10Haha this is a funny little idealistic article. If any company actually hires like this I'd like to know.
Want the job? This is the real selection criteria at west coast startups:
1) Went to interviewer's school and/or worked at my buddy's startup
2) Drinks the kool-aid? i.e. willing to work 60+ hrs/week below market
3) Previously held self titled "Chief Product Officer" position at "startup" that failed after 3 months