Main takeaways: -Learn about different types of Product Manager roles and how it relates to key strengths to focus on during the interview -Tips on how to ace recruiter and screener interview, face to face interview, what to prepare and how to stand out -Insights from the hiring manager and recruiter on the decision-making process of selecting a final candidate

1. www.productschool.com
How to Ace the Product Manager
Interview by HubSpot PM

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8. Iuliia Palma
TONIGHT’S SPEAKER
@ProductEvents

9. How to ace product
manager interview
Iuliia Artemenko Palma
Product manager @HubSpot

10. Introduction

11. My background
Senior product manager, Experian
Manage three global product lines in
data quality space
Product manager, HubSpot
Manage global sales acceleration
apps within Sales Hub
Analytics
Background in analytics, running
analysis for decision making for
pharmaceutical, information
management, biotech,
manufacturing industries
Product manager, Black Ink
Launch new BI software product for
manufacturing industry

12. Who are you?

13. What we will cover
● What is product management
● Product manager skills & responsibilities
● Product manager types
● Interview process
● Interview recommendations

14. What is product
management

15. We will focus on
Associate Product Manager
● No direct product management
experience
Product manager
● Has product management
experience

16. Types of PMs
● Growth product manager
● Product manager
● Product owner
● Program manager
● Technical product manager

17. PM skills
● Leadership
● Strategy/Planning
● Operational Ability
● Technical Ability
● Business Acumen
● Analytics

18. PM responsibilities
● Set product vision
● Define product strategy
● Manage product roadmap and backlog
● Perform quantitative and qualitative research of the target market,
competitors, user research
● Write product requirements
● Work with engineering to build the product
● Work with marketing, sales, support to launch the product
● Drive product growth

19. Interview Process
On Site
interviews
with hiring
manager,
product,
engineering,
design teams
Recruiter
Phone Screen
OfferHiring
manager
phone screen

20. Interview
Recommendations

21. Preparation
Iteration

22. Company research
● Products
● Competitors
● Customers/market
● Revenue
● Reviews
● Metrics
● News

23. Company strategy
● Mission
● Strategy
● Strength
● Weaknesses
● Challenges

24. Discoverability
Marketability

25. What do recruiters look for
PM roles
Experience as product manager
Managed dev team, took an idea and saw it thru to launch
APM
Someone who understand the product and customers, coachable
Screener questions:
● Is a candidate a good communicator?
● Can you tell me a story?
● Can you build relationships?
● Can you work with different stakeholders?
● Do you have a business sense?
● What is your favourite product? Why?
● What is your least favourite product? Why?

26. Pass recruiter screen: Tell a story
● Problem
● Journey
● Solution
● Result
● Success

27. Recruiter red flags
● Not mentioning working with development team
● No conflict
● No self critique
● Avoiding failure

28. Interview questions

29. Tell me about yourself
● Prepare, practice and iterate your pitch
● Tell me a story
● Keep it relevant
● Short and to the point
● Don’t be too technical
● Show that you care

30. Behavioral questions
Job 1 Job 2 Job 3
Leadership
Influence
Teamwork
Success
Challenge/Conflict
Mistakes/Failure

31. Estimation
● Clarify
● Equation
● Estimate
● Validate

32. Case
● 1000 people sign up but only 10 bought?
● How would you evaluate potential product launch?

33. Product questions
● How would you design
● How would you improve
● What is your favorite product/product that inspires you?

34. Approach
● Understand the problem
● Provide a structure
● Identify users and customers
● Use cases: how will they be using the product, what are their goals
● How well is current product solving for their goals
● What solutions would improve it
● Summary

35. APM recommendations

36. APM DOs and DON’Ts
DO
● Show a track record of solving a problem
● Articulate what initial problem was, how you
iterate on it, what you learned
● Demonstrate coachability, passion for learning
● Try building things on your own
● Take feedback and make changes
● Proactively solve the problem
● Demonstrate thought process, not only theoretical
knowledge
● Domain expertise in your field
● Tell a good story
● Show how do you channel motivation
DON’T
● Be overly confident
● Focus only on successes
● Don’t ask questions
● Don’t ask for help

37. Good questions to ask
Company focused
● What are the business goals for the next year or so?
● How does your product strategy align with it?
● What are the company’s global presence plans?
● How do you compete with X when they up to…?
● Based on my research this is your main differentiator with your competitor A, is this the direction you
plan to continue? Are there other strategies you working on?
Role specific:
● Typical PM day, team structure (Designer? Engineering leads?)
● What development process does the team use?
● What are core PM skills you looking for?
● What is the most challenging about being a PM here?

38. Q&A

39. Thank you

40. www.productschool.com
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