How To Crush Your Product Management Interview

1/8/2020 How To Crush Your Product Management Interview — Ultimate Guide For All Aspiring PMs | LinkedIn
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How To Crush Your Product

Management Interview — Ultimate
Guide For All Aspiring PMs
Published on January 4, 2019
Soundarya Balasubramani
Product Manager at Salesforce and Writer | 44 articles Follow
Aspiring Author and Activist | Gol... See More
Let’s face it — it’s not easy preparing for an interview. They say it takes a village to raise a
child. Pulling in that analogy, it does take a small village — your referral, your friends, your
mentors, your mock practice partners and hopefully this article — to give a good interview.
It took me a village.
If you want to be a good Product Manager, this is not the article for you. However, if you
want to be a good Product Manager Interviewee, you've hit the target.
Let me give a brief intro: Hi, I’m Soundarya (aka Pooja) from India. I just finished my
Master’s at Columbia University, majoring in Management Science and Engineering (a
mouthful, isn’t it?). I have experience interviewing with Salesforce, Google, DropBox
and Facebook. I spent August — November of 2018 preparing ferociously for my
interviews. I am happy to say that I will be joining Salesforce as an Associate Product
Manager starting March, working in the ML and Security org. Seeing as how my
avocation is writing, it was only fitting to pass on what I learnt on to aspiring PMs.
The rest of the article is divided as follows:
1. What does a PM do
2. How do I prepare for the interview Messaging

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-crush-your-product-management-interview-ultimate-balasubramani/ 1/11
Search 3. How do I stand out from others in the interview
4. How do I cope with rejection
1. What does a PM do?

Let’s keep this short. The following are what a PM does:
a) Attend a lot of meetings. What are the different kinds? Brainstorming sessions, giving
updates, daily stand-ups, catching up with teams, etc.
b) Create product specs, i.e, write long documents envisioning how the next product
feature should look like.
c) Talk to users. Depending on what the product is, it is mostly likely to see PM’s
conducting direct/indirect meetings with users to gain feedback.
d) Crisis management. When there’s an engineering issue, you are there to solve it. When
there’s a PR issue, you are there to solve it. When there’s a marketing issue… you get the
drift.
e) Prioritization. Last but not least, this is an important skill and a task you would probably
be performing throughout the day. Feature x or y? Launch or grow? And so much more.
Messaging
Search Some say a PM lives at the center of Design, Engineering and Business. I say it’s very
subjective and you need to talk to (at least 3–4) PM’s from your target company and org to
know more.
2. How do I prepare for the interview

By now, you must have heard that there are five sections to a PM interview: Design,
Strategy, Estimation, Behavioral and Technical. I have written about how to prepare for each
section below.
But wait! Before we launch into the categories, there is something that you have to do by
default for PM interviews. What’s that? Practice, practice and practice even more: Sign up
on the Slack Channel created by Lewis Lin, which already has over 5000 people looking
for mock practice partners. I probably had over 40–50 practice interviews before I went for
my on-site for Google. Yes, it is absolutely and 100% needed.
Note: For all the interviews, by default, you need to practice like hell.
Hence, that is something I would not be mentioning repetitively. But
please take it as the most critical point.
2.1. Product Design
Like Comment Share 513 · 68 Comments
There are three types of questions here: a) How would you design x for y? b) How would
you improve x? and c) What is your favorite mobile app/web app/physical product? I would
suggest follow the three step process to master this category.
a) Read Cracking the PM Interview by Gaayle Laakhman and Jackie

Bavaro: This book, as I’m sure you’ve heard, gives you a great jumpstart to learn about
how to think of Product Design questions with a few good examples. No, you do no need to
read it from page 1 till the end if you don’t have time. Only focus on chapters surrounding
Messaging
design and case interview for Product Design. Tip: Also check the Appendix section.
Search b) Read Decode and Conquer by Lewis Lin: I’m sure you must have heard of this
book as well. I’ll tell you why: from the beginning to end it’s filled with useful examples.
Unlike the previous book, this has no theory — Lin jumps straight into problems.
c) Think about products, I am serious: Look at the app usage on your phone. Which apps
are you using everyday? Why those specific ones, and not the competitors in the market?
Which are the apps that you not just like using, but enjoy using? What is an app that has
given you a hard time recently (I’m looking at you Goodreads!)? Apply the same thought
process for websites and physical products. For eg: I absolutely adore my college bag —
distributes weight well, optimal number of zips and waterproof. But I abhor this cardholder
that I have attached to my phone — limited space, bad aesthetic and flimsy. So, start
observing.
2.2. Product Strategy:
Some say this is the hardest section of the interview, and I agree. The questions here can
range from ‘If you’re the CEO of Walmart, what is your 1 year plan?’ to ‘In your
perspective, how would a smartphone look like in 10 years?’. There is absolutely no fixed
framework that you can use to answer all the questions. Each question demands you to think
solely in terms of the company, users and market involved. So, how can you ace this?
a) Read Cracking the PM Interview and Decode and Conquer: I’m sure the two
books I’ve mentioned have become household names now, and I hope you would do the
strategy questions present in them before moving on to any other step.
b) Read The Product Manager Interview: 164 Actual Questions and

Answers by (yes, again) Lewis Lin: This book is filled with examples, as the name
states. ‘164’ questions, mainly catering towards strategy and analytics. I read this exactly an
hour before an interview, and wish I had read it sooner. I hope you don’t make that mistake.
Messaging
Search c) Move beyond books to sites such as Medium, LinkedIn, Wall Street Journal,
TechCrunch: What is going on in the market right now? You need to understand the lay of
the land. Why did Microsoft acquire GitHub? Would Google Discover be a success or
failure? What’s the advantage of Amazon acquiring Whole Foods? Countless articles out
there, critiquing and talking about the nuances. Go ahead, and read. I also created a Slack
Channel where people post interesting articles/videos/podcasts they come across. Check it
out!
Note: It also helps to know a few frameworks — 3C, 4P, Porter’s 5 forces,
Market Entry, etc at the back of your mind.
2.3. (Gu)Estimation:
I agree — I was really scared of these questions, even after I had practiced a few. What is
the weight of Empire State Building? Well, it’s not humanly possible to know the answer,
but shed no tear — the interviewer does not want you to know the answer to any of these
questions. Rather, they just want to know what goes on in your head when you hear these
questions. Do you instantly panic, do you go blank or do you take it head-on?
Like the above, there are three ways to perfect yourself with these questions:
a) Read Cracking the PM Interview and Decode and Conquer: Practice the 10
estimation questions from CTPMI first, as the authors go in detail to explain their reasoning
behind the answers. Once this is done, shift gears to DAC.
b) Learn hard facts: I know I said you don’t need to know the answers to the questions, but
let me rephrase that. While you don’t need to memorize the answers, it’s crucial to know
certain ubiquitous numbers. Let’s say you’re interviewing for Google. What is the market
share of Google Search? How much of the pie does Google Cloud Platform have?
What was Google’s revenue and profit in 2017? Knowing these numbers, and more,
helps more than you’d think. To make your life easier, here is a short (and shabby) fact sheet
I created while preparing. Messaging
Search c) Solve with structure: There is more in common between Product Design and
Estimation thank you’d think. They both are solvable with a ready-made structure. When I
see an estimation question, my brain is wired to follow this.
Picture: Soundarya's framework? No?
But you don’t have to follow this. Make up your own framework. But only use it as a
backbone — you are the one responsible for giving it muscle, bone and flesh to make it a
whole. It also helps to have a charisma while solving these questions, and try to give some
personal comments here and there.
2.4. Technical:
Disclaimer: I majored in Chemical Engineering in my undergrad, and completed my

MS in Management Science and Engineering.
Messaging
Search Given that Disclaimer, you might think, ‘what can she tell me about technical interviews that
I don’t know already?’. You’re right to do so, but I spent over 3 months preparing and so I
hope the following are useful. There are three major categories to prepare for: Data
Structures and Algorithms, System Design and Pseudocoding.
a) Data Structures and Algorithms: GeeksforGeeks was my best friend here. I went
through all the sorting algorithms and basic data structures used. Also brush up your CS
fundamentals: OOPS concepts, Networking frameworks, how internet works, how WiFi
works, what are the different protocols used and so on. Remember, you have to be so well-
versed such that you can explain all this even to a 5 year old. To make lives easier, here’s the
word doc I used while preparing, use this and keep adding more.
b) System Design: Ooh, we've hit bulls eye. Most people either don’t prepare or don’t
prepare enough for this. Avoid that mistake, and use this GitHub repo as your Bible or
Quran or Bhagavad Gita. Donne has done a brilliant job of breaking down everything
needed. But don’t delve too deep, practice the ten example questions given first.
c) Pseudocoding: Leetcode and a brilliant engineer friend of mine were my strongest

pillars. I did not spend a lot of time here, as I knew they wouldn’t ask anything too crazy. If
you’re well versed with coding, this should not be a hard section. Just make sure to
enunciate, brute force first, optimize next and check for edge cases. This YouTube channel
by Kevin Naughton is super, super useful (plus, he’s an awesome person to talk to!).
2.5. Behavioral:
Here’s a sincere request: please do not underestimate this section. Why would someone hire
you if you can whiteboard a brilliant product but cannot answer why you want to join the
company? When you interview someone, you don’t just observe what comes out of their
mouth, you also observe their attitude, body language, tone and vibe. At the end ofMessaging
the day,
Search everyone wants a person who is good to work with — who can pass the Airport Test. Wait,
what?
The Airport Test: If I am stuck with you for 8 hours at an Airport overnight, will you
keep me good company or will you be mindbogglingly boring?
Can you keep them company? Do you have something you are so passionate about to keep
them good company? I hope the answer is yes.
There are multiple sites that give you example behavioral questions, but at the least, cover
the basics: Why you? Why this company? Why this role? What’s your expectation?
What’s your biggest success? What’s your biggest failure? and How do you cope with
a bad manager?
3. How do I stand out from others in the interview
This is where most students struggle. How do you compete with other applicants of
companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook when everyone around you is a 4.0
driven and hardworking student? Well, you can. And you should try to. Here are a few ways
I experimented with:
a) Read, but not for the interview: I am an avid reader, and have always been. So, I
welcomed this. Apart from the books above, I read The Lean Product Playbook, Swipe to
Unlock and In The Plex. These books, and more, help you become a better PM, and not just
a better PM interviewee.
b) Go beyond just taking your Resume: Here’s a tip: take your Resume in Matte finish
paper (people do notice!). But don’t stop there, think about what else you can take. Maybe
a project you worked on and would like to discuss there? This is your chance to shine, so
don’t be shy. I took a mock-up of my project and talked about how it can be applied to a
product of that company. Messaging
Search c) Do little things that make you unique: One way to accomplish this is to ask insightful
questions. What is the highlight of your day? Do you think you will continue up the
ladder or start your company? How do you spend your weekends? As much as they
interview you, you interview them as well. Think about this point.. take a long walk. You’ll
come up with something.
4. How do I cope with rejection

It’s been more than 5 years since I started receiving rejection emails, but I still feel my heart
getting crushed when I see, ‘Thank you for applying, unfortunately…’.
There is only one way that I know to really cope up: feel the pain completely. Do not let
anyone make you feel guilty for feeling sad — at least on the day of getting the rejection
call. You did put in a lot of effort, and you deserve some time to feel the disappointment.
But, when you wake up the next day, shrug it off, and move on. Because a company does not
define who you can be, only you can do that. (I plan on writing a longer article
centered around rejection soon.)
**************************************************************************
Messaging
Search Guess what? You’re all set for the interview… if you take the above advice seriously and
work hard towards your goal. Interest is just a spark, Initiative is the fuel. Go ahead,
and kick-ass!
**************************************************************************
If that was useful, Follow me for more and do comment/share… you know what?
If you really liked my writing, you would be doing it by default. :) So, I just hope you
liked it! Here’s some of my other pieces:
Evolution of Google Search: What You Don’t Know
Why is Amazon Valued at $1,000,000,000,000?
How My Grad School Experience Has Been
If you want to get in touch, send an email to ask@bsoundarya.com. Join my

mailing list where I answer anonymous questions every few weeks in
detail.
I am indeed on the other alphabet soup of social media as well, if you are too:
Personal Blog, Medium, Instagram, Facebook.
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Published by
Soundarya Balasubramani 44 articles Follow
Product Manager at Salesforce and Writer | Aspiring Author and Activist |
Gold Medalist | bsoundarya.com
Published • 1yr
After going through months of rigorous interview process, interviewing with various companies ranging from
Salesforce, Google, Facebook, Dropbox, here is a guide for any aspiring Product Manager. I've put literally
EVERYTHING that I know into this, tips and tricks, actionable strategies and little known secrets (like, why not take
your Resume in a Matte finish paper?).
I really hope this is useful for you! Preparing for an interview is NOT easy, especially for a PM interview that has five
different sections. Use this as a starting guide - also look at other articles and guides out there. Good luck for your
interviews! :)
Please do tag someone who'd find this useful! :)
#pm #interview
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Sridevi Neti
Search Associate Product Manager
Very well articulated. Good work. Loved reading it. 7mo
Like Reply 1 Like · 1 Reply
Product Manager at Salesforce and Writer | Aspiring Author and Activist | Gold Medalist | bsoundarya.com
Thank YOU for reading :) 7mo
Like Reply
Inna Prokhorenko
Product Manager – Semalt
Great and quality article! Thank you for sharing your experience! 11mo
Like Reply 1 Like · 1 Reply
Thanks so much, Inna! Glad you think so :D 11mo
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1/8/2020 How To Crush Your Product Management Interview — Ultimate Guide For All Aspiring PMs | LinkedIn

How To Crush Your Product

The rest of the article is divided as follows:

2. How do I prepare for the interview Messaging

Search 3. How do I stand out from others in the interview

4. How do I cope with rejection

1. What does a PM do?

2. How do I prepare for the interview

Like Comment Share 513 · 68 Comments

a) Read Cracking the PM Interview by Gaayle Laakhman and Jackie

2.2. Product Strategy:

b) Read The Product Manager Interview: 164 Actual Questions and

Picture: Soundarya's framework? No?

Disclaimer: I majored in Chemical Engineering in my undergrad, and completed my

c) Pseudocoding: Leetcode and a brilliant engineer friend of mine were my strongest

3. How do I stand out from others in the interview

4. How do I cope with rejection

Evolution of Google Search: What You Don’t Know

Why is Amazon Valued at $1,000,000,000,000?

How My Grad School Experience Has Been

If you want to get in touch, send an email to ask@bsoundarya.com. Join my

More from Soundarya Balasubramani

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