How to unleash the potential of a product manager? 30 typical PM interview questions

An interview is a dialogue. This is stressful. This is a chance. Sometimes, this is total interviewer domination, and sometimes an equal communication act. But this is always a dialogue, for which you need to be ready, no matter which side of the table you are on. A competitor applying for the role of product manager should pay attention not only to the product component of the future position. What questions to expect from a PM interview?



Every product manager has ever had their first interview. Do you remember yours? It was exciting, right?

As they say - "the first damn lump." But you need to go through this step to move on. Over time, an already experienced and motivated product manager certainly knows how to answer the most tricky question of an interview, to “take” the initiative into his own hands and begin to “attack” from his side.
')
Becoming a moderator of the interview is not so difficult. Of course, we need some experience, self-reliance and a professional knowledge base. In this article, we will look at the main questions that can be asked during an interview for a candidate for the Product Manager position in any product startup or large corporation.

The interview process can be viewed from two sides:

• On the one hand, the questions that are proposed below will be of interest to product managers who are going to an interview. They must be prepared for these questions and “estimate” the answers that will satisfy and pleasantly surprise the interviewer.
• On the other hand, such questions will be useful for HR managers, product owners and top managers of large companies and startups. These questions will help navigate the conversation with a potential manager and understand what information will be most useful and effective.

Of course, a successful interview includes not only knowledge and confident answers to questions. This is only a part. Be sure to pay attention to your appearance, punctuality, well thought out resume, and other traditional aspects. Even if you are the most motivated and theoretically prepared potential product manager in the world, but come for an interview in a clown costume, you can hardly expect success.

How to recognize the skills and qualities of a real product manager?

To summarize, the interviewer is likely to pay attention to the following:

• Strategic thinking of a product manager
• Organizational and communication skills
• Technical and marketing background
• Team building skills
• Customer focus
• Creativity
• Initiative
• High performance
• Ability to clearly coordinate releases
• Stress resistance
• The ability to withstand crisis situations and other important professional and individual qualities.

30 questions for a potential product manager

In every startup or large corporation, the requirements for a product manager will be different. It depends on the product, service or service the organization is engaged in, on the target audience and market characteristics. But many of the questions that can be asked at a PM interview can be predicted in advance and prepared for them carefully. Here is a list of such questions that can theoretically be asked in any IT product:

1. How would you explain what product management is for a professional and for a child? Give two definitions.
2. Describe the best product you have ever come across and explain why.
3. Why did you decide to become a product manager?
4. Is this your long-standing goal, a conscious choice, or a fad?
5. How can you explain that in some companies, product managers earn as much or more than developers?
6. How would you advise optimizing our product?
7. How do you organize a product roadmap? Do you need a professional tool for this? Which one
8. What is the least interesting aspect of your profession as a product manager?
9. How do you see the place of the product manager in the hierarchy of a startup and a large company?
10. What is your ideal career path?
11. How do you prioritize features in a product?
12. Do you use any prioritization methods ? What is your favorite?
13. What development methodologies have you worked with? What do you prefer and why?
14. What are the main differences between Scrum and Kanban for you?
15. Do you think that daily meetings and stand-ups in IT teams are effective? And how often do you think they should be organized?
16. What metrics would you use to track the performance of our product?
17. How would you briefly describe the main difference between a product manager and a project manager ?
18. What changes would you suggest for our site to improve conversion?
19. Did you have any disagreements with the team members at the previous place of work?
20. Describe your favorite innovation or product growth hack, which you remember recently, and why you liked it.
21. What features of our product would you like to see on your iPhone / Android?
22. Do you have skills to work with remote employees?
23. If your former colleagues remember about you, in what 5 words would they describe you?
24. Do you have a favorite book about product management?
25. How do you know if the product release was successful?
26. What is your most significant professional achievement as a manager?
27. What can annoy you in your daily work?
28. Everyone has professional failures. Could you describe one of yours?
29. What do you like most about your work PM?
30. Why do you want to work in our company?

Can you handle such interview questions? Have not changed your mind to become a product manager?

If you can confidently answer these questions, then any interview will seem to you a simple friendly conversation, and the interviewer's face will change from the distrustful and suspicious to something that is pleasant and pleasant.



If there are any gaps, take time to think over your answers and not get lost on occasion.

And remember that on the other side of the table - a living person. The more your interview will look like a normal dialogue, the more comfortable you will feel.