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The Great Pitch
Tells an [engaging] story
Sends a message.Who are you, really?
Addresses your “stereotype”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/crackingthepminterview-may2016-160505010351/75/Cracking-the-PM-Interview-16-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byGayle McDowell
Cracking the PM Interview
Gayle McDowell gave a presentation on cracking the product manager interview. She discussed that there is no perfect PM profile and that interviews assess a variety of soft and technical skills. She provided strategies for behavioral questions including developing stories from work experiences and using a Situation-Action-Result structure. She also reviewed how to approach common question types like product design, estimation, and case study questions. Her key advice was to focus on the user and structure responses.
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Gayle McDowell introduces herself and her work on product management interviews.
Discussion on the characteristics of an ideal Product Manager, highlighting that perfection is a myth.
Key skills required for product management include strategy, leadership, customer focus, technical skills.
Strategies for answering behavioral questions, such as crafting engaging personal stories.
Methods for structuring answers, emphasizing authenticity, acknowledging failures, and clearly conveying messages.
Approaches to tackling product design questions, emphasizing user empathy and the importance of understanding user needs.
Estimation techniques in interview settings, including how to break down questions and validate assumptions.
Types of problem-solving questions during interviews and frameworks for structuring responses.
Final insights on the importance of self-awareness, focusing on the user, and structuring answers.
Additional resources provided for further learning and networking opportunities in product management.
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Cracking the PM Interview
- 1. GayleL. McDowell |Founder/ CEO, CareerCup gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Cracking the PM Interview Howto Landa Product ManagerJob May 4,2016 |ProductSchool
- 2. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 2 Hi! I’m Gayle LaakmannMcDowell Author Interview Coach Interview Consulting <dev> </dev> (CS) (MBA)
- 3. Gayle Laakmann McDowell3gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Yes! Slidesare online! Gayle.com Click “Events”
- 4. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 4 The Perfect PM Leadership & Execution Technical Product Industry Business
- 5. ------ the ------ PerfectPM ------ is a ------ MYTH
- 6. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 6 The Real Question(s) What do you have? What do you need? What do Iassume?
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- 14. Behavioral Tell me aboutyourself…
- 15. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 15 The Good EnoughPitch • Showsof success • Prompt the interviewer • Hobbies
- 16. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 16 The Great Pitch Tells an [engaging] story Sends a message.Who are you, really? Addresses your “stereotype”
- 17. Gayle Laakmann McDowell17gayle in/gaylemcdgayle DevelopingYour Stories: Strategy 1 Job1 Job2 Leadership Successes Challenges Mistakes Conflicts
- 18. Gayle Laakmann McDowell18gayle in/gaylemcdgayle DevelopingYour Stories: Strategy 2 Strengths Data? Risk-taking? Thoroughness? Empathy? Resilience? Weaknesses Detail-oriented? Bluntness? Toooptimistic? Sensitivity? Impatient?
- 19. Gayle Laakmann McDowell19gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Goals of Answering BehavioralQs Good Content Good Communication +
- 20. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 20 Structure 1: Nugget First Lead with your “thesis”/ nugget Grabs thelistener’sattention Givesthemcontextforwhereyou’regoing. I’m most proud of program I set up to … Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
- 21. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 21 Structure 2: S.A.R. S A R What was the issue? What did you do about it? What was the impact? What’s themessage?
- 22. Gayle Laakmann McDowell22gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Story Diagram Story1 Story2 NUGGET SITUATION ACTION What&Why&How RESULT THEMESSAGE DO DIFFERENTLY
- 23. gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 23GayleLaakmann McDowell Most Common Issues Too much “we”, too little“I” Especiallyleaders&women Too littleaction No message
- 24. ----- don’t ----- sugarcoat ------the ------ bad stuff
- 25. Gayle Laakmann McDowell25gayle in/gaylemcdgayle What I’m looking for If you’ll admitto bad stuff If you’ve really failed How you respond to bad things
- 26. Gayle Laakmann McDowell26gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Weaknesses, Failures& Mistakes Be REAL Be COMPELLING Be CHANGED The best candidates connect
- 27. Product Design How wouldyou design a… 02
- 28. How would youdesign an alarm clock for the blind? What’s your favorite app? Why? Pick a Google product. How would you improve it?
- 29. gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 29 z GayleLaakmann McDowell What I’m Looking For Communication User empathy Creativity Judgment
- 30. Gayle Laakmann McDowell30gayle in/gaylemcdgayle How toTackle 1. Define theuser Askquestions Arethere multipleusers? 2. Discuss use cases, problems & goals 3. Design 4. Wrap-up
- 31. Gayle Laakmann McDowell31gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Anddon’t forget… the USER the WHITEBOARD
- 32. Gayle Laakmann McDowell32gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Make sure youknow Favorite WEBSITE Favorite MOBILE APP Favorite PHYSICAL PRODUCT Favorite COMPANY PRODUCT
- 33. Gayle Laakmann McDowell33gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Your Favorites Why do you love it? Whoare the users? What do they use it for? How do they competitors compare? Whatproblems are there? How would you improve it?
- 34. not all favorites arecreated equal
- 35. Estimation How many andwho cares? 03
- 36. How much moneydoes Gmail make in a year? How many airplanes land in a day? How many golf balls can fit in a bus?
- 37. gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 37 z GayleLaakmann McDowell Why We Ask Smarts Ballparking Matters Comfort withnumbers
- 38. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 38 How toTackle 1. Ask questions to resolve ambiguity Don’tmake assumptions(yet) 2. Outline/ StructureYour Approach 3. Break down the components Assumenumberswhennecessary State assumptionsexplicitly Roundnumberstomake yourmath easier 4. Sanity Check Doyournumbersmake sense?
- 39. How much moneydoes Gmail make in a year?
- 40. Gayle Laakmann McDowell40gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Step 1: Ambiguous Information Just in theUS? Or Worldwide? Profit or revenue? Pastyear? Or average over history? Gmail only? Or includeGoogle Apps?
- 41. Gayle Laakmann McDowell41gayle in/gaylemcdgayle Step 2: Outline YourApproach 1. Estimate # of Gmail users 2. Estimate annualclicks a. Top clicks b. Side clicks 3. Estimate $ per click a. Top clicks b. Side clicks
- 42. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 42 Step 3:Break downcomponents Estimate # of Gmail usersin theUS 1. Assume 300 million people in the US. Exclude0 -12 yearsold and65- 75yearsold ~200 million 2. Assume 80% of people use email But 50% only use their work email acct 3. Assume 80% use a “major” email provider Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc. … and so on …
- 43. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 43 Step 4:Sanity Check Suppose you get US rev. = $5 billion. No, because… Google’sannualrevenueis~$30billion $16/ UScitizen(notjustgmailusers)
- 44. Case & Misc. Questions Theother questions 04
- 45. How would youlaunch Amazon in Turkey? How would you price a new e-book reader? User signs up drop after launching new profiles. What would you do?
- 46. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 46 Many other questiontypes! Problemsolving Acquisition rates dropped. Why? Strategy Should wedo X orY? Marketing How would youmarketX to Y? Pricing How would youprice X? Launching How would youlaunchX incountryY? Brainstorming Nameas manythings youcould do with X
- 47. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 47 Generic Structure 1. Understand/defineproblem 2. Structure 3. Solve Useinstincts Make reasonableassumptions DRIVEtheDISCUSSION
- 48. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 48 Useful Frameworks Customer PurchaseDecision MakingProcess Marketing Mix (4 Ps) SWOTAnalysis Five Cs Porter’s 5 Forces Butit’snotatestofframeworks
- 49. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 49 Useful Metrics& Knowledge User Acquisition #,growth,activeusers,etc Activity What arepeopledoing? Money Customeracquisitioncosts Revenue $growth
- 50. Takeaways If you forgeteverything else… 05
- 51. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 51 If you forget everything… Know who you are (andwhowethinkyouare) Focus on theuser Structure your responses
- 52. I could writea whole book on this!
- 53. gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle LaakmannMcDowell 53 Other Resources Gayle.com CareerCup.com CrackingThe CodingInterview.com Or, follow me online • facebook.com/gayle • twitter.com/gayle • gayle.com • gayle@gayle.com • quora.com