32 Product Management Interview Questions and How to Answer them (2023)

Do a quick search on LinkedIn and you'll find over 2 million people with the title "product manager’. Glassdoor puts them in a product management roleTop 10 Best JobsAvailable in the US and UK in 2022. At the same time, 43% of companiesPlan to hire more product managers。

Hiring a product manager can be difficult due to the popularity and complexity of the position. Most hiring processes involve interviewing diverse candidates with different experiences and backgrounds.

Asking the right questions during an interview can help you understand how they think and how they respond to certain everyday situations.

Why Are Product Manager Interview Questions So Important?

Going into an interview unprepared is bad for both the interviewer and the candidate. While some interviewers can get a good feel for an interviewer, it's nearly impossible to predict how they'll perform on a day-to-day basis just by talking.

That's why every interview should cover all the main points in the form of questions. Here, all points are grouped into categories:

• background/experience
• Technical knowledge and experience
• strategic thinking
• Skills of analyze
• implement
• Team Leadership and Management

Strategies and Examples for Background Questions

The purpose of key questions is to put candidates at ease by giving them an opportunity to introduce themselves and discuss their background, qualifications and why they are interested in a particular position.

These questions should be easy to answer because the interviewer is asking the candidate something they already know.

Example question:Why do you want this job?

in the book"interview with the prime minister,” the authors advise candidates to answer the question by emphasizing their experiences, mentioning at least one specific achievement and what attracted them to the job.

For example: "I have been a product manager for the past four years. During that time I have successfully launched two new products. I want to expand my skills and take on new challenges. I like your company's focus on helping create a more sustainable future." product."

Here are some additional background/experience questions and tips you can use:

Strategies and examples for technical issues

Technical knowledge questions require candidates to explain specific technical concepts in simple and understandable language. The purpose of these questions is to assess candidates' understanding of technical fundamentals and their ability to communicate complex ideas within a team.

Example question:How would you explain to your grandparents how the API works?

A good way to answer questions like this is to use an analogy: "If I had to explain to my grandparents how an API works, I would use a wedding analogy. For example, a couple is looking for a certain type of food, within a budget .The wedding planner's job will be to find and contact various caterers and hire someone who is willing to provide food at the right price.In this case, the event planner acts as an API and multi-tasks, e.g. with multiple entities communicate, get the data you need and get the job done.”

Here are some other technical questions you can ask:

Strategies and Examples for Strategic Thinking Questions

Strategic thinking questions deal with the why, how, and what of products. They are open ended and there are no right or wrong answers.

Questions like "What should Company X do next?" "Why should Company X acquire Company Y" and "Should Company X enter new markets?" are all characterized as strategic questions.

Example question:Facebook bought Instagram for about $1 billion even though it was not yet profitable. What do you think is the reason?

Product manager interview questions like these are designed to force candidates to see the big picture, think deeply, and arrive at a logical answer. A good way for candidates to answer is to link the product to the strategic vision.

For example, a strong response might be: "Facebook is already the best social media platform in the world, but Instagram has created a second place in image-based social media. He's starting to gain influence fast. Facebook sees acquiring Instagram as protection" itself and improve its product portfolio. In the end, it turned out to be a great decision. Today, Instagram is the third most popular social media platform. Facebook did the same when it tried to acquire Musical.ly Logic, which eventually evolved into TikTok."

Some other strategic thinking questions you can ask include:

Strategies and Examples for Analyzing Competency Questions

Analytical questions test the candidate's analytical methods. They are designed to help examiners understand how candidates think and deal with everyday problems.

Example question:What is your favorite website? How would you improve it?

In product management, sometimes it's best to follow context. Candidates can explain why they think certain things need improvement and how they will go about it.

This question can be answered in four steps:

1. Provide structure, such as a discussion of the logical progression from goals to features to implementation and evaluation.
2. Consider the needs of users and customers.
3. Find weaknesses.
4. Write down your ideas for improvement.

A good answer to this question is this:

"Don't laugh, but my favorite site is [name of your favorite PM-related site]. They have great content as well as expert tips and tricks. One thing that's missing, however, is a way to connect with other PMs .I suggest they find a way to facilitate feedback and create a community to increase engagement and allow us to learn from each other. If successful, they could even offer a premium level with direct access to top product managers or monthly meetings to generate extra income."

Other typical analytical skills issues include:

Strategies and Examples for Performance Issues

The goal of executive questions in a product manager interview is to reveal to the interviewer how the candidate identifies and prioritizes product opportunities. These questions are asked to understand how candidates are using their resources, developing roadmaps and KPIs, and how they canUse data to create better experiences。

Example question:Should Facebook require users to upload a profile photo when logging in? How would you decide?

Please noteThis is the problem Facebook usesInterview Product Manager:

By answering these and other similar performance questions, candidates can be considered for hiringgame background：

• Z = target
• A = action
• M = measured data
• E = Evaluation

One way to answer this question is by context and highlightingThe price of A/B testing: "Requiring users to upload a profile photo helps prevent fake accounts, but also hurts user acquisition. You'll have to do some experimentation to find out. I recommend doing an A/B test where you ask a random group of users to upload a photo during onboarding. You can then compare the activation rate of the control group to the other groups as a whole. If activation is not affected, you should continue. If it prevents new users from joining, we'll have to go back and refine the idea further and try again. "

Other types of performance questions an interview might include include:

Strategies and Examples for Leadership Topics

A product manager's success may depend on his ability to lead his team and help them perform at their best. When preparing for product manager interview questions, be sure to ask candidates for specific examples of how they have demonstrated leadership.

Example question:Imagine having to work with people who don't get along with you and disagree with your direction. How do you handle conflict?

The question isn't really about what the candidate did, but how they handled a particular negative situation. A good way to answer this question is to describe the situation and how the candidate got through it. For example:

“When we presented the product to the sales and marketing team, they strongly objected to the proposed selling price. They felt that the price was too high for the market, especially considering what our competitors were offering. Therefore, we gathered We identified key stakeholders and asked them to help product teams prioritize feature sets. We then passed this list to our customer focus group and compared their responses. Once informed, we met again to discuss .It turns out we can cut some features to meet the price point and keep our customers happy."

This response demonstrates the ability to negotiate and resolve conflict effectively, while also demonstrating a willingness to listen and adapt for the greater good.

Other types of leadership issues may include:

Expert Tips and Resources for Successful Product Management Interviews

The better prepared you are for an interview, the better your chances of success in the interview—whether you are the interviewer or the candidate. If you have time, consider conducting virtual interviews with colleagues or other product managers.

If you're looking for additional tips and insights, check out these past expert product manager interviews:

• Charlie Wong、WeWork 和 Spotify
• andrew wayne, Looker i Instacart
• Abby Kuzmanov,scope
• Shayna Stewart, i Media Lab
• Rachel Kaplan, Coinbase

Do this if you want to build great products and help your team create better user experiencesExplore the free version of Amplitude now。