All blogs · Written by Ajitesh
How to Prepare for a Product Manager Interview 101
Product management interviews often involve a wide variety of questions. While each company has its own unique approach, there are some common patterns in the types of questions asked. Most interviews aim to assess a few key capabilities in PM candidates, even if the specific questions vary.
The majority of questions typically fall into the following categories:
- Product Design
- Product Strategy
- Analytical
- Execution
- Technical
- Behavioral
Product Design is quite unique to PM interviews. Rest of the question types are also asked in other job roles. Each of these question types measures how you will perform in different facets of PM life.
Product Design Questions
What They Assess
Product Design questions help assess how you would perform at one of the core aspects of the Product Manager role: defining what-to-build. As part of this, PMs have to write Product Requirement Documents (PRD), which help build a shared understanding with engineering and UX on what-to-build.
Example Questions
- Design Uber for visually challenged
- What’s your favorite product? If you’re a PM for this product, what features will you add to it?
- The Google research team has designed a new technology that can teleport smell. What product will you build using this technology?
Practice Scenario
- Teleportation Problem (Popular in Google PM Interview)
- Generic Product Design Interview
- Design a smart shoe
Product Strategy Questions
What They Assess
Strategy questions in PM interviews assess candidates’ ability to think and communicate strategically - a critical PM capability.
For instance, firms often hold periodic strategy retreats to present plans to leadership for the next semester or period. These plans outline goals and actions planned for the team. The actions, in turn, are based on insights, which take into account multiple factors including competitive analysis, market trends, corporate strengths, etc.
Similarly, when reviewing roadmaps with their teams, PMs must explain the reasoning and bigger-picture impact of product investments.
Example Questions
- You’re PM for Google Maps. What should be Google Maps’ 3-year strategy?
- It’s Covid and Uber trips have gone down by 5X. As a PM leader, what will be your short-term and long-term strategy?
Practice Scenario
Analytical Questions
What They Assess
As a product manager, one heavily relies on their analytical skills - evaluating A/B test results, defining success metrics, estimating market size, etc.
For instance, when writing the PRD, you have to estimate the market size, revenue, and usage among other things to the success criteria of the product launch. Similarly, when presenting a business proposal as part of product strategy, you have to estimate the impact of these investments and assess the roles that different market forces and growth vectors will play.
Example Questions
- How much storage is required to operate YouTube?
- What are the top 3 types of A/B Experiments you would run on Google Search to increase ads revenue?
- How can Snapchat double its MAU?
Practice Scenario
Execution Questions
What They Assess
Product Managers make a lot of micro-decisions throughout the day. For example, when critical business metrics go up or down, PMs have to team up with engineering and others to explain why it happened, whether it’s one-time or sustained, and next steps. This can be an extremely consuming exercise with high visibility. Execution questions help assess your approach to similar product situations.
Example Questions
- You’re the PM for Facebook Groups. MAU has dropped by 20%. How would you figure out what happened?
- How would you measure success for X product?
- You’re the PM for Facebook Reactions. Reactions are up 20% but comments are down 10%. What would you do?
Practice Scenario
Technical Questions
What They Assess
Product Managers have to earn the trust of the engineering team who at the end of the day are the ones writing the code. PMs have to work with engineering to make trade-offs between different architectural and feature combinations, assist in troubleshooting customer issues, make decisions on API design that have a user-facing impact, and so on.
Technical questions can help determine whether you can form a good working relationship with the engineering team. The general expectation is that engineers see PMs as their technical peers who are focused on product problems.
Example Questions
- What happens when you type google.com in your browser?
- How will you design a global messaging solution focusing on system design?
Practice Scenario
Behavioral Questions
What They Assess
Behavioral questions allow interviewers to understand how candidates have approached relevant situations in their past work experience. For instance, a PM may be asked how they influenced an engineer to prioritize a certain product feature. By explaining their persuasion approach and the outcome, the candidate demonstrates their ability to align cross-functional partners.
Example Questions
- Tell me a time when you used customer insight to launch a new product/feature?
- Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a member of your cross-functional product team?
Practice Scenario
Practice with AI Voice Agents
Our voice AI agents conduct hyper-realistic interview scenarios based on high-quality content provided by industry experts. What makes these practice sessions truly realistic is that the AI can draw diagrams, write code, and generate cards - just like in actual interviews. You can practice anytime you want (24/7), ask for help when needed, and build confidence through repetition. This way, you’ll be thoroughly prepared before your actual interview.
Conclusion
Understanding these six question types is essential for Product Manager interview preparation. Each category tests different aspects of the PM role, from strategic thinking to technical knowledge and interpersonal skills.
Start practicing these question types today to build confidence for your next PM interview. Remember, consistent practice is key to mastering the art of product management interviews.
Ready to start practicing? Check out our PM interview scenarios on Tough Tongue AI and begin preparing for your dream PM role.
