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Product Manager Interviews

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Product Manager Interview Questions

Often considered the "CEO" of their product area, product managers oversee the strategy, production, and implementation of a particular product. Because product management teams include members from different backgrounds such as engineering, design, and data design, product managers must have strong communication skills and excel in cross-functional work environments. Expect to answer questions about your management abilities, prioritization skills, and experience working in product. Though not required, technical backgrounds are advantageous particularly when applying for roles at tech companies.

Top Product Manager Interview Questions & How to Answer

Question 1

Question #1: What are your preferred management frameworks?

How to answer
How to answer: Describe which management frameworks you prefer to use when managing teams and products and explain why you like them. Outline any limitations of the frameworks and how you overcome them. If possible, research what frameworks the company currently uses and discuss how your own methodology can work within those frameworks.
Question 2

Question #2: How do you prioritize between the different needs of your users?

How to answer
How to answer: Product managers need to make tough decisions that balance the needs of different users while keeping in mind the resources of the team and the general cost-benefit analysis for the company. Explain the process you use to make those decisions, including what research you do. Outline how you communicate your decisions to internal and external stakeholders, how you manage expectations, and how you deal with any negative reactions.
Question 3

Question #3: What is your strategy for onboarding yourself to a new product?

How to answer
How to answer: A product manager is expected to know everything about a product, such as how clients use it, the business model, and the roadmap for further development. Outline who you plan to talk with to learn about the product and its users, how those conversations will happen, and what you hope to learn. This is a good opportunity to show your enthusiasm for the future of the product and its possibilities and any research you have already done.

53,097 product manager interview questions shared by candidates

1. Example of quantifying risks, what were the results and what have you learn about it. 2. Situation that you have to accept something that you don't agree with. 3. Product that you are proud of. 4. How you led a project from end to end. 5. Dealing with ambiguities and how did you make decisions to move forward.
avatar

Senior Product Manager

Interviewed at Amazon

3.5★
Dec 9, 2020

1. Example of quantifying risks, what were the results and what have you learn about it. 2. Situation that you have to accept something that you don't agree with. 3. Product that you are proud of. 4. How you led a project from end to end. 5. Dealing with ambiguities and how did you make decisions to move forward.

Make sure you have 3 examples for each leadership principle since you get the same question over again by different people and it is frowned upon to say the same thing. All answers should follow the STAR method and you need to tell the story with emphasizing the results instead of just reading them off. 1. Why Amazon now? 2. What is the most technical project you worked on? What were the risks? Impact? 3. Who are you? 4. What feedback have you received from past managers? 5. What was your most creative idea? 6. Give an example of a project that had a change in scope and how did you handle it? 7. Give an example of when a project failed? 8. How did you vent your ideas and convince leadership? 9. Name a new metric you discovered? 10. Walk me through your background? 11. Give an example when you didn't agree with your manager? 12. What are the KPIs for your company? 13. How would someone who has worked with you describe you? 14. What was your proudest moment in your career? What part did you play in making that happen? 15. What was a revolutionary idea that you implemented? 16. If you didn't have goals or KPIs for your example, in hingsight what would you measure and why? 17. If you were changing the AmazonFresh experience what are some are your ideas and how would you measure them? 18. What metrics do you use to drive change? 19. When was a time that you take ownership outside of your role? 20. What is an area that is an opportunity for you to improve upon? 21. Tell me about a feature or customer experience that had multiple CX issues? 22. Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager - I got this question 3 times 23. Tell me when you made a judgment call since you didn't have any data (make sure you have 3 examples ready)
avatar

Senior Product Manager

Interviewed at Amazon

3.5★
Aug 13, 2017

Make sure you have 3 examples for each leadership principle since you get the same question over again by different people and it is frowned upon to say the same thing. All answers should follow the STAR method and you need to tell the story with emphasizing the results instead of just reading them off. 1. Why Amazon now? 2. What is the most technical project you worked on? What were the risks? Impact? 3. Who are you? 4. What feedback have you received from past managers? 5. What was your most creative idea? 6. Give an example of a project that had a change in scope and how did you handle it? 7. Give an example of when a project failed? 8. How did you vent your ideas and convince leadership? 9. Name a new metric you discovered? 10. Walk me through your background? 11. Give an example when you didn't agree with your manager? 12. What are the KPIs for your company? 13. How would someone who has worked with you describe you? 14. What was your proudest moment in your career? What part did you play in making that happen? 15. What was a revolutionary idea that you implemented? 16. If you didn't have goals or KPIs for your example, in hingsight what would you measure and why? 17. If you were changing the AmazonFresh experience what are some are your ideas and how would you measure them? 18. What metrics do you use to drive change? 19. When was a time that you take ownership outside of your role? 20. What is an area that is an opportunity for you to improve upon? 21. Tell me about a feature or customer experience that had multiple CX issues? 22. Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager - I got this question 3 times 23. Tell me when you made a judgment call since you didn't have any data (make sure you have 3 examples ready)

What are your strongest and weakest assets? Rate what you love to do best. Rate what you feel is required for the job? How do you deal with conflict? How would you describe yourself? Why do you want to work here? Why should we hire you?
avatar

Sr. Product Manager

Interviewed at GoTo

3.7★
Jan 14, 2021

What are your strongest and weakest assets? Rate what you love to do best. Rate what you feel is required for the job? How do you deal with conflict? How would you describe yourself? Why do you want to work here? Why should we hire you?

Who are Cisco's most important rivals? The question is a bit tricky since you have to understand which group the interviewer comes from. Since Cisco competes on so many fronts, the rivals are almost everybody - Microsoft, IBM, Google, HP, Dell, VMWare, Alcatel-Lucent, etc. However you should focus on those which are most important to the interviewer. Bonus points will be given if you can actually explain why the firms you chose to talk about are more relevant competitors to this business unit than others.
avatar

Product Manager

Interviewed at Cisco

4.1★
Oct 17, 2012

Who are Cisco's most important rivals? The question is a bit tricky since you have to understand which group the interviewer comes from. Since Cisco competes on so many fronts, the rivals are almost everybody - Microsoft, IBM, Google, HP, Dell, VMWare, Alcatel-Lucent, etc. However you should focus on those which are most important to the interviewer. Bonus points will be given if you can actually explain why the firms you chose to talk about are more relevant competitors to this business unit than others.

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