Profile
Max A.

Max A.

Product, Google
About
I help companies serve more customers. I'm a techno-optimist who believes in the power of meaningful innovative products to solve real-world problems. Say hi on twitter.com/maxan and check out my blog about tech, startups, growth, and marketing: m...more

Content

Max A.
Google ProductJuly 11
Here are some of my favorites: * Open-ended / ice-breaker: "Can you tell me about yourself / your experience?" * Motivation / Research: "Why are you interested in the company and this position?" If the answer is too generic / short, follow-up with "What do you know about the company?" * Behavioral / Change management and initiative: "Can you tell me about a time when you realized that your company or team needed to change something in the way you did things? How did you come to that conclusion and how did you convince others?" * Behavioral / Data analysis and technical skills: "Can you tell me about a time when you analyzed data to make a decision or a recommendation? How did you choose what data to look at, what tools did you use, and what conclusions did you make?" * Awareness / Culture: "Is there anything you consider your relative weakness or area where you'd like to improve?" Follow up if they respond with something that's not actually a weakness, e.g. "I think this is more of a positive thing! Is there anything that your boss or your peers would say you need to work on?"
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2929 Views
Max A.
Google ProductMay 7
It really depends on your goals and the current situation. In my humble opinion, the value of an MBA is likely to be higher if one or a few of the following things are true about you: 1. You're trying to change your role/function (and having a hard time doing it without a degree) 2. You're trying to change the industry (and having a hard time doing it without a degree) 3. You're trying to change the geo, e.g. move to the US or to the EU (and having a hard time doing it without a degree) 4. Your undergrad major wasn't business or econ 5. You want to learn more about other business functions, such as Finance, Strategy, and Operations Based on what you described, it's unlikely (but possible) that an MBA degree is going to be tremendously helpful to you as you're not planning to change anything. Disclaimer: I earned an MBA from Berkeley-Haas and found it useful in many ways. That being said, many things from the list above applied to me. Overall, having an MBA is definitely not critical or necessary for a successful career – there are many paths one can take to achieve the same goals.
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1570 Views
Max A.
Google ProductMay 7
Here are some of my favorites: - hubspot.com – the page is a bit long but I like how it speaks to different audiences - airtable.com – it’s a complex product that can do a thousand things but it's explained and showcased quite nicely - mailchimp.com – centered around benefits and showcases the product in a visual way
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1438 Views
Max A.
Google ProductJune 15
It's definitely not a one-stop-shop situation over here. Here is the list of things we use most frequently: 1. Google Analytics for web data (website conversions, traffic, etc) 2. Google VWO for A/B tests 3. Hotjar for heatmaps 4. Kissmetrics dashboards for product data: certain actions taken inside the product 5. Mode Analytics for financial reports: churn, MRR, ARR, etc 6. Salesforce for DemandGen / Performance Marketing metrics: leads, opportunities, etc 6. Still lots of Google Spreadsheets for other metrics: budgets and spend by channel, ops plans, etc
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1304 Views
Max A.
Google ProductMay 7
1. Give them interesting and stretching projects: from writing content to pricing and competitive intelligence. 2. Facilitate and incentivize cross-functional work: let them own and drive projects with other teams, e.g. customer sucess, bizops, etc – so that they learn a lot. 3. If you work for a high-growth company, the situation might change in a few quarters and the upward opportunities might appear – so people on your team should be ready.
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1230 Views
Max A.
Google ProductNovember 13
This is a red flag for me: * Answering behavioral questions with hypotheticals and generalities as opposed to describing specifics of the projects they worked on and using the CAR model (challenge — action — results). If I can get no specifics even after I follow-up with clarifying questions, I'll likely pass.
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1159 Views
Max A.
Google ProductJuly 18
This depends on the necessary level of detail. We use Google Alerts + an internal Slack channel for ongoing monitoring. As for in-depth analysis, Crunchbase, Angel.co, G2Crowd, Capterra, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and competitors' websites can be useful. Also, check out this blog post: http://max2c.com/competitive-intelligence-tools/
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746 Views
Max A.
Google ProductJune 15
I’ll probably need to write a blog post about it one day. :) For now, here is a brief summary of what we aligned on with the product team in terms of the categories of inputs we need to prepare a successful launch: Earlier in the process: 1. Feature Description 2. Target Audience 3. Use Case and Customer Benefits 4. Timeline Later in the process: 5. Business Objective 6. Availability (plans the feature will be available under – might not be relevant in your case) 7. Support Needed from Marketing 8. Linked to Product Assets 9. Additional Resources Hope it's helpful. I'm happy to chat more!
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654 Views
Credentials & Highlights
Product at Google
Lives In San Francisco, California
Knows About Product Marketing Career Path, Influencing the Product Roadmap, Product Marketing Int...more