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Product Management Interviews
Product Management Interviews
2 answers
VP of Product at Shopify
My personal take is that when I am speaking with strong product candidates, I
can see a few qualities shine through in their story. For me, those are:
1. They are constant Learners/curious
They are constantly asking questions and actively listening. They are readers
and constant consumers of information. To me, this shows that when they come on
the team, they will bring fresh ideas forward. Ask the team questions that
others may not consider and bring new information to the table.
2. They are persistent and don't stop at 'no'
In this, they are contantly trying to understand constraint...more
Product Lead, Flow Area at Asana
For me the biggest differentiator is having a growth mindset. This doesn't just mean they want to make an impact and improve as a PM. For me it comes down to three things:
- They have a sense of what they know and don't know, and are always eager to learn more. They question their own assumptions.
- They're humble and curious in trying to figure out what they don't know and leverage the expertise of others.
- They frequently seek feedback from others and try to challenge themselves, not just to achieve more but to be a better colleague and partner to others.
2 answers
Director of Product Management at Salesforce
There are different paths that each product manager takes, but the common ones
I've seen are:
1. Joining a tech company as an Associate PM or an intern straight from college.
For college grads, I suggest starting by connecting with other product managers
(e.g. via LinkedIn) to better understand what we do. There are great books
available on this topic as well -- "Cracking PM Interview" is among my
favorites. I also created a series of videos explaining tech jobs and what do I
do in more detail - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsAz_arwNkiPobhi09VrMFg
2. Transition from other roles e.g. ...more
Head Of Product Management, Confluence Experience at Atlassian
There is a fork in the PM career path road: one is becoming a people manager,
the other becoming an expert in a deep thinking product area sans managing a
team.
My recommendation is to figure out which one is right for you. Many folks want
to jump into management simply because they think this is the only way to grow,
make more $$$ and so on. That is not true. Big and small orgs I have been a part
of value senior individual contributors that are passionate about their
individual craft. Speak with folks from both paths, and see which one resonates
more with you. Try mentoring people and se...more