A fast search on LinkedIn will inform you that there are greater than two million individuals with the title “product supervisor”. Glassdoor has put the product supervisor job of their high 10 of the most effective jobs record within the U.S. and the U.Okay. for 2022. On the similar time, 43% of firms are planning on hiring extra product managers.
As a result of reputation and the complexity of the position, hiring product managers may be very difficult. Most hiring processes contain interviewing a various group of candidates with totally different experiences and backgrounds.
Asking the appropriate questions throughout the interview helps you perceive how they assume and the way they’ll react in particular day-to-day conditions.
Key takeaways
- Background/expertise questions present the candidate with the chance to speak about their background, {qualifications}, and why they’re within the position.
- Technical know-how questions consider the candidate’s understanding of the know-how and their potential to speak advanced concepts.
- Strategic considering questions take care of the why, how, and what of a product.
- Analytical competency questions are designed to assist the interviewer see how the candidate approaches day-to-day issues.
- Execution questions assist the interviewer perceive how the candidate identifies and prioritizes alternatives for the product(s).
- Management and crew administration questions are requested to see how the candidate demonstrates management abilities and potential.
Why are product supervisor interview questions so essential?
Going into the interview unprepared is dangerous each for the interviewer and the candidate. Whereas some interviewers can get a great sense of the particular person they’re interviewing, it’s nearly not possible to foretell how they’ll function day-to-day from only a dialog.
That’s why each interview should cowl all the details within the type of questions. Listed below are all the details grouped into classes:
- Background/expertise
- Technical know-how
- Strategic considering
- Analytical competency
- Execution
- Management and crew administration
Methods & examples for background questions
The aim of background questions is to make the candidate really feel snug whereas additionally offering them with the prospect to introduce themselves and discuss their background, {qualifications}, and why they’re within the explicit position.
These questions must be simple to reply, because the interviewer is asking the candidate issues that they already know.
Instance query: Why would you like this job?
Within the ebook “Cracking the PM Interview,” the authors counsel that the candidates reply the query by highlighting their expertise, mentioning at the very least one particular accomplishment, and what attracted them to this job.
For instance: “I’ve been working as a product supervisor for the previous 4 years. Throughout that point, I efficiently drove two new product launches. I’m seeking to broaden my ability set and tackle new challenges. I really like how your organization focuses on merchandise which are serving to construct a extra sustainable future.”
Listed below are another background/expertise questions and prompts you should use:
- Stroll us via your resume.
- Inform us about your self.
- Why excites you about product administration?
- The place do you see your self in 5 years?
- Why would you like this job?
Methods & examples for technical questions
Technical know-how questions ask the candidate to elucidate sure technical ideas in a easy, comprehensible language. The aim of those questions is to judge the candidate’s understanding of the basics of know-how and their potential to speak advanced concepts to the crew.
Instance query: How would you clarify how APIs work to your grandparents?
A good way to reply a query like that is with an analogy: “If I needed to clarify how APIs work to my grandparents, I’d use a marriage analogy. For instance, the couple requests a sure kind of meals that falls inside a price range. Will probably be the job of the marriage planner to search for and talk with numerous caterers and rent the one that’s prepared to cater the meals on the proper worth. On this situation, the occasion organizer acts as an API and performs a number of duties like speaking with a number of entities, acquiring the wanted knowledge, and getting the job carried out.”
Listed below are another technical know-how questions you’ll be able to ask:
- How would you clarify Google Cloud to your uncle?
- What applied sciences would you utilize to construct a stay stream video service?
- How would you retailer massive photographs in a database?
- How would you write a program to randomly shuffle an array of numbers?
- How would you soak up an unsorted array with duplicates and return it with no duplicates?
Methods & examples for strategic considering questions
Strategic considering questions take care of the why, how, and what of a product. They’re open-ended and don’t have any proper or mistaken reply.
Questions similar to, “What ought to firm X do subsequent?”; “Why ought to firm X purchase firm Y”; and “Ought to firm X enter a brand new market?” all qualify as strategic questions.
Instance query: Fb purchased Instagram for a couple of billion {dollars} even when it wasn’t making any cash. What do you assume was the explanation?
Product supervisor interview questions like this are designed to pressure the candidate to take a look at the general image, do some deep considering, and provide you with a logical reply. A great way for the candidate to reply is by tying the product to the strategic imaginative and prescient.
For instance, a robust reply is likely to be: “Fb was already the world’s high social platform, however Instagram had captured a special area of interest in social media primarily based on photographs. It was beginning to acquire influencers at a speedy charge. Fb noticed the shopping for of Instagram as a option to defend its flank and improve its portfolio. Ultimately, it turned out to be a fantastic resolution. Right this moment, Instagram is the third hottest social media platform. Fb additionally utilized the identical logic after they tried to buy Musical.ly, which finally developed into TikTok.”
A number of the different strategic considering questions you’ll be able to ask embody:
- How would you promote crops at Amazon?
- How would you monetize Fb Messenger in all markets?
- What product would you remove if you happen to have been the CEO of Apple?
- In your opinion, why did Microsoft purchase LinkedIn?
Methods & examples for analytical competency questions
Analytical competency questions check the candidate’s analytical method. They’re designed to assist the interviewer see how the candidate thinks and the way they method day-to-day issues.
Instance Query: What’s your favourite web site and the way would you enhance it?
In product administration, typically it’s finest to comply with frameworks. The candidate can clarify why they assume one thing wants enchancment and the way they might do it.
This query may be answered by following these 4 steps:
- Present a construction, similar to discussing a logical development from targets to options to implementation to analysis.
- Contemplate the wants of customers and prospects.
- Determine the weak factors.
- Point out your concepts for enchancment.
An incredible reply to this query is one thing similar to:
“Don’t snicker, however my favourite web site is [the name of your favorite PM-related website]. They’ve nice content material with suggestions and tips of the commerce from specialists. One factor that’s lacking although is a option to join with different product managers. I’d counsel they discover a option to facilitate feedback and construct a group to extend engagement and allow us to all study from one another. If that was successful, they may even supply a premier tier with direct entry to high product managers or month-to-month meet-ups to generate extra income.”
Different typical analytical competency questions are:
- How would you enhance Netflix?
- How would you enhance the adoption of high-speed web in rural areas?
- Let’s say you have been charged with creating a brand new product for Amazon. What metrics would you utilize to measure success?
- How do you resolve what’s the proper worth for a product?
Methods & examples for execution questions
The aim of execution questions within the product supervisor interview is to divulge to the interviewer how the candidate identifies and prioritizes alternatives for the merchandise. These questions are requested to learn the way the candidate makes use of their assets, develops roadmaps and KPIs, and the way they will use knowledge to construct higher experiences.
Instance query: Ought to Fb require customers to add a profile picture at join and the way would you make that call?
Observe that it is a query Fb has used for interviewing product managers:
When answering this and different comparable execution questions, the candidate can take into consideration using the GAME framework:
- G = Objectives
- A = Actions
- M = Metrics
- E = Evaluations
One of many methods to reply this query is by following the framework and highlighting the worth of A/B checks: “Requiring customers to add a profile pic would possibly assist stop faux accounts, however it may additionally harm consumer acquisition. You’d have to run some experiments to search out out. I’d counsel an A/B check asking randomized consumer teams to add pictures at onboarding. You may then examine activation charges from the management group to others as a complete. If activation doesn’t undergo, you’d wish to transfer ahead. If it prevented new customers from becoming a member of, we’d want to return and refine the concept additional and check once more.”
Different forms of execution questions the interview can embody are:
- How do you go about decreasing the quantity of pleasant fraud on our ecommerce web site?
- The variety of deserted procuring carts out of the blue spiked. What do you do?
- You’ve been named the product supervisor for Fb’s newsfeed. How do you rank posts?
Methods & examples for management questions
The success of a product supervisor will probably be pushed by their potential to guide a crew and assist them do their finest work. When making ready product supervisor interview questions, ensure you ask the candidate for some particular examples to see how they’ve demonstrated management.
Instance Query: Consider a time whenever you needed to work with individuals who didn’t report back to you and so they disagreed along with your route. How did you deal with the battle?
This query isn’t actually about what the candidate did, however how they acted in a particular detrimental scenario. A good way to reply that is by describing the scenario and the way the candidate navigated via it. For instance:
“Once we went to the gross sales and advertising and marketing crew with a product, they have been vehemently against the recommended promoting worth. They believed it was priced too excessive for the market, particularly given our competitor’s choices. So, we pulled collectively the important thing stakeholders and requested them to assist the product crew prioritize characteristic units. We then took the record to a spotlight group of our prospects and in contrast the solutions. As soon as we had the data, we received again collectively to debate it. It turned out we may pare again on just a few options to fulfill the value level and make our prospects joyful.”
This reply each demonstrates the flexibility to barter and resolve battle productively but in addition reveals a willingness to hear and adapt for the larger good.
Different forms of management questions would possibly embody:
- How do you handle crew battle?
- How do you create an inclusive and equitable surroundings?
- Certainly one of your crew members received’t converse up in conferences, what do you do?
- How do you get your crew transferring after they’re caught?
- How do you resolve to delegate?
Professional suggestions and assets for acing the product administration interview
The higher you put together for the interviews, the higher your chances are high for acing the interview — regardless of if you’re the interviewer or the candidate. In case you have the time, contemplate holding mock interviews with colleagues or different product managers.
If you happen to’re searching for extra suggestions and insights, take a look at these previous interviewers from knowledgeable product managers:
And if you happen to’re seeking to construct nice merchandise and allow your crew to create higher buyer experiences, make sure to discover the free model of Amplitude at the moment.
