The thing most people get wrong Interviewing

about product management for PM

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What product management is all about

Becoming a product manager is all about learning a

specific way of thinking

There is no template you can follow exactly in order to

succeed

You can’t get this job just by trying to copy what other
people do

Product management is a mindset, not a skill

 How the PM interview actually Interviewing
works (who you’ll talk to) for PM

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Types of people you'll talk to in a PM interview

Preparing yourself for the interview is half the battle

Here are the main groups of people you might be talking to

in a PM interview, and what they’re looking for:

#1 Recruiters

They want to know if you are who you say you are and if
you’ve done what your resume says

They want to make sure you’re a logistical fit for the role -
when you can start, salary expectations

#2 Other product managers / hiring manager

In most cases, they will be your boss if you get hired

They will ask about your career history, skills, and interests

Both recruiters and the hiring manager are mainly

looking for 3 categories of things:
 Your interest in the role
General PM qualities - communication &
leadership
Specific PM skills - critical thinking, presentation
skills, product vision, wireframing, data analyzing,
implementing development methodologies like
Agile and Scrum, managing stakeholders

#3 Engineers

They want to see how easy you’ll be to work and

communicate with - emphasize collaboration
They want to assess your technical knowledge

#4 Designers

They want to see whether they would like working with you
They want to assess your design knowledge

#5 Other types of stakeholders

Legal, sales, customer service, marketing, high level

executives
They’re looking for positive signals from you regarding your
personality, communication skills, and your ability to do the
job as it relates to their work

TIP: Be yourself and show a genuine interest in each

person’s roles and challenges
 Why PM interviews are Interviewing
so challenging for PM

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Reasons why the PM interview is difficult

Product management interviews are some of the most

difficult ones in the modern job market, for both the
candidate and the company that’s hiring

Product managers make a lot of money but they also have

a lot of responsibility - a bad product decision can affect an
entire company and threaten the jobs of many other
people

Reasons why the PM interview is so difficult:

#1 Longer and more in depth process

While for other roles, the interview process might involve

talking to 5 people over 3 rounds of interviews and might
last 2 weeks or less, a PM interview process can involve
talking to 10 or more people over 5-10 rounds of interviews,
lasting up to 8 weeks
 #2 They’re different everywhere

Every company has its own implementation of the product

management position and the format of the PM interview
may vary: phone interviews, in-person conversations,
physical exercises, drawing out concepts on a whiteboard,
take home case studies, etc.

#3 It’s hard to prove you can actually do the job

A product manager has a wide range of responsibilities,

such as leadership, analytics, decision making under
pressure, which require a lot of skills that are difficult to
assess in a candidate, even after asking a variety of
questions and giving them exercises
 Thinking like a Interviewing
product manager for PM

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The PM way of thinking

The role of a product manager is all about making the best

decisions based on data

Whenever you get asked what you would do for a

product in a particular situation, before you give an
answer:
- ask clarifying questions
- explain how you came to that conclusion
- mention the other alternatives you considered

As a PM, you have to understand that there is never a

single correct answer to a question. There are always
multiple possibilities and you have to pick the best option
after you analyze all the information

EXAMPLE

PM interview at an e-commerce company

Question:
"Should we develop a native mobile app or focus on a
mobile website?"
 Bad answer

"You should develop a mobile app"

Good answer

"Give me more information to help me make a decision"

Clarifying questions:

How many of your customers shop from mobile

devices?
What volume of traffic do you have?
What sorts of engineering knowledge does your
team have?
What’s your budget?

After saying their final answer, the candidate would explain

their reasoning and what other options they would consider
based on difference circumstances
 Interviewing
Branding yourself for PM

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Establishing a personal brand

If you’re looking to become a product manager at your

current company or at another one, you can increase your
chances by taking control of your online branding
There are 3 major things that will set you apart from
others when recruiters look you up online:

#1 Having a personal website

Get your own domain and create a website where you

describe yourself, your interests and your experience
Include links for people to contact you of find you on social
platforms

Put your website link on your LinkedIn profile and your

resume

#2 Having a public social media profile

(other than LinkedIn)

The best way to build your presence is to have a public

Twitter account
Post your thoughts on industry related things and connect
with like-minded people

Stay away from polarizing topics

Twitter can be a good source for industry or technology

news if you follow the right people

#3 Having a personal blog

Host your blog on your website or use a platform like

Medium.com

Write about product management related things to

establish yourself as an expert on the topic
 Research you need to do Interviewing
before your first interview for PM

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What to look for before your interview

Before you go into an interview process, make sure you’re

as informed as you can by doing the following types of
research:

#1 Understand the company and the product

If possible, use the product to form your own opinion on its

strengths and weaknesses

Check out customer reviews online on blogs, websites, and

social media

Read the company’s blog or news page to find out about

their latest announcements
Research the competition so you can be more
knowledgeable about the industry

#2 Know your answers to the most common

basic interview questions

Generic interview questions:

 Tell me about yourself
Why do you want to work here?
What’s your greatest weakness?
Tell me about your previous experience
Make sure you answer in a way that quantitatively
demonstrates your success in previous roles

PM specific questions:

Talk about your favorite products, what you

like and dislike about them
Talk about difficult product decisions you’ve
made at previous jobs

#3 Research the people you’re going to talk to

Recruiters will most likely Google your name before the

interview, so you can do it too if you can figure out the
name of the person you’ll be talking to
Understand what the person is like in terms of how they do
business and what their interests are in order to better
connect when meeting in person

#4 Subscribe to a tech trends related newsletter

Read it every day to keep yourself informed about what’s

happening in the technology industry
Use your knowledge to give better answers during the
interview
Example: Launch Ticker
 Interviewing
Making the perfect resume for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
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How to perfect your resume

Resumes are not as useful as they used to be, but they’re

still necessary for applying to jobs and getting past
recruiters

A resume done right will help you stand out and highlight
your suitability for the PM role

#1 Identify any experience you have that

aligns with what a PM does day to day

Almost everyone has some product management-related

experience, regardless of their background

Think about any experiences you’ve had along these lines:

- Projects you’ve led or been a major component of with a
team, especially one that involved a lot of cross-department
communication
- Any times you’ve talked to users of your company’s
product, internally or externally
- Any interactions you’ve had with a product manager or
their team at your current or former jobs in which you
ended up getting something done together
- Any times you’ve had to prioritize a part of a project,
maintain a timeline, expand or reduce scope, or report
status and outcomes of these things to others
- Any analysis you’ve done on data to identify either a
problem or help come up with potential solutions

#2 Quantify everything

Product management is focused heavily on quantifiable

outcomes to measure success

Bad example: “I was in charge of answering customer

emails”

Good example: “I answered 100 customer emails, which

helped increase customer satisfaction by 20%”
 Writing effective Interviewing
cover letters for PM

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What to write in a cover letter

When you apply for PM jobs, you will do it in one of two

main ways:
through an online portal (most big companies do this)
through email (smaller companies tend to do this)

Cover letters are generally considered optional and not

every company asks for them, but I highly recommend you
write one for each application

Why you should write a cover letter:

you can only get across so much through a resume
cover letters are an easy way of showing how
interested you are by putting an extra effort

How to include a cover letter:

On online portals, there’s usually a space for you to add a
cover letter or any form of comments
If there’s no space for it, go on LinkedIn and try to find the
hiring manager for the department you’re applying to, then
email the cover letter to them directly
If you’re applying through email, the cover letter IS the
email you send, not a separate document
The cover letter is your chance to tell them why you’re
perfect for the role

Think of yourself as a product, and of your hiring manager

as a potential customer, and show why you are the best
choice they could make

Cover letters should be no longer than 2-3 paragraphs / 10

sentences and should be designed to make it as easy as
possible for the reader to understand the key points
(they’re busy and will just scan through it)

Goals:
demonstrate interest in the job
demonstrate why you’re a great fit
demonstrate that you have the necessary experience
and skills
optionally: tell your story as a PM

Cover letter structure

Top left of the page:

date
your full name
your email address
your LinkedIn profile or website

Next block of text:

the name of the company you’re applying to
the role you’re applying to
the hiring manager’s name (if you know it)
a link to where you saw the job application (optional)
Dear [name] / hiring manager,
Paragraph #1
answer the questions “Why this position?” / “Why this
company?”
show interest by telling a story of how the company
and its products have impacted you in a positive way
if the product hasn’t changed your life, but you have a
story or anecdote about it, say that
tell them you’d be excited to tackle the problems
they’re trying to solve
tell them why you think the space they’re in has a huge
potential
tell them why you’re passionate about the role, the
company, the space

Paragraph #2
establish why you are a good fit for the company
analyze the job posting to see exactly what they’re
looking for; use the phrases and terminology they used
in their post (this shows that you actually read it)
give them the best 2 reasons why that job description
was written for you
fit in what you consider to be your best and most
relevant job highlight, using this format:
“I accomplished X as measured by Y by doing Z”
say what the quantitative accomplishment was, how
you measured it to know it actually happened, and then
how you did it
connect what you’ve done to what they’re looking for
and give examples of your accomplishments
if there’s nothing you can connect, then put in a
generically impressive accomplishment
Paragraph #3
focus on why you are great at your role, or are ready
for the role of a PM
you can tell a story of how you started and where you
are now
include a couple of interesting accomplishments that
don’t fit anywhere else
highlight that you do have the experience and skills
they’re looking for (check job posting)

End the cover letter by reiterating your enthusiasm for the

role and how amazing it would be to work for them, or
show your confidence in your ability to help them achieve
their goals

You can’t improve your resume, but you CAN improve

the impact of your application through the way you’re
presenting your experience in the cover letter

General tips for getting the most

out of your cover letter

#1 Don’t copy and paste your cover letters

Write a generic one and then customize at least half of it to

every job application

The first paragraph should be customized entirely, the

second and third ones can be a mix depending on what fits
#2 Try not to just re-hash your resume or CV

Weave the information into a story they can remember, and

translate your experience into how it will work for them

#3 Highlight what’s important for that specific role

Different PM positions require different skills and

experience:
growth PM: creativity, experimentation
B2B PM: change management, stakeholder
management, key account management
technical PM: technical skills

#4 Imagine you’re writing this like you would write a cold

email

Focus on brevity, personalization, and impact

After each sentence, ask yourself the question “So what?”
and if you can’t answer that, don’t include that sentence

Everything you include should be directly relevant or

generally impressive
 A secret weapon - Interviewing
understanding yourself for PM

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How understanding yourself can help you

When people are interviewing you, they’re often looking for

someone who can understand their weaknesses and who
has a particular mindset

In order to be able to give detailed answers to questions

like “What’s your biggest flaw?” you need to understand
yourself first

Take a personality test to get a better insight about your

behavioral tendencies (e.g. Myers Briggs, Enneagram)

Understanding yourself will play a big role in your ability to

communicate with and manage other people in the future
 Answer questions Interviewing
the correct way for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
in this lecture:
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How to answer PM interview questions

In order to answer questions in the right way, you have to

think like a product manager and show that you’ve got the
skills for the job

#1 Show your thought process

When asked to give your opinion about something, get

into the PM mindset:
tell them your answer
tell them how you got to that answer and what
assumptions you’ve made
tell them how that answer could change based on
different variables

#2 Tell a story

When asked about a decision you’ve made at your past

job:
describe the situation and the problems you were facing
explain what the limitations were in that situation and why
tell them about the action you took
explain what you learned from that experience
 The most common types Interviewing
of questions for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
in this lecture:
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Common types of questions and their purpose

Product management interviews are known to include

some unique types of questions you might not hear
anywhere else

#1 Product creation questions

“Design an X for Y”
(e.g. Design an ATM for international airports)
Goal: To see if you’re able to identify the issues, organize
your thoughts, ask for the right clarifying information, and
defend your answer
You might get asked to explain why you like/dislike a
product and how you’d improve it

#2 Estimation questions

“How many X can/does Y?”

(e.g. How many golf balls would fit in a school bus?)
Goal: To give you a stress test and understand your
ability to effectively break down and work through a
problem about something you probably don’t have deep
knowledge of
 #3 Instructional questions

“Teach me how to make X”

(e.g. Teach me how to make scrambled eggs)
Goal: To assess your communication skills and your
ability to empathetically explain a concept to someone,
or write great documentation

#4 Personality and behavioral questions

“Tell me about a time when you did X”

(e.g. Tell me about a time when you had to make a difficult
decision)
Goal: To assess your capacity or experience to do
whatever they asked about, as well as your ability to
describe a good or bad experience in a coherent and
mature way

#5 Take home exercises

You’re given a case study or exercise to work on outside

of the interview room and present the solution to the
interviewer later
Goal: To assess your knowledge and skills when it comes
to product development
 Product estimation Interviewing
questions for PM

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in this lecture:
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How to answer estimation questions

“How many X can/does Y?”

(e.g. How many golf balls would fit in a school bus?)

Goal: To test your ability to make quick and educated

estimations (“back of the napkin” calculations)

The ability to do quick estimations is a big part of your job

as a product manager - for example, when you need to
quickly assess a potential new market or how much
engineering work a new feature might involve

In order to answer these questions correctly, follow these

steps:

#1 Ask clarifying questions,

don’t assume anything

Example A: How many golf balls fit in a school bus?

Clarifying question: What size is the bus?

Example B: How many windows are in New York?

Clarifying question: What counts as New York?
 #2 Estimate by using one of two methods

Top-down:
- best to use when there’s no existing data
- it’s not a very accurate method

Example: How many windows are in New York?

Estimate how many buildings are in New York
Estimate how many windows each one has
Multiply both of those numbers

Bottom-up:
- best to use when you have a small data point to expand
from
- a more accurate way to estimate

Example: How many windows are in New York?

Count the number of windows on one floor of a building
Multiply that by the number of floors
Multiply that by 4 (sides)
Estimate the number of buildings per block, the number of
blocks per street, the number of streets in New York, etc.

#3 Explain how you got to your final estimation

Ideally, you should do this while you are solving the

problem and making the calculations
At the end, explain how your answer might change based
on different variables
The goal is not to give a correct estimation, but to show
how you think
 Product creation Interviewing
questions for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
in this lecture:
Covered
How to answer product creation questions

“Tell me how you’d design X for Y” / “What’s your favorite

product and how would you improve it?”

Goal: To see if you can think through a problem in depth,

gain the proper context, think outside the box, and
present solutions in a way that shows you’re aware of the
assumptions you’re making - all while under pressure

In order to answer these questions correctly, keep these

steps in mind:

#1 Understand the problem, the users,

and the users’ needs

Ask clarifying questions

Write down all the data you get
Make a note of all the assumptions you’re making

#2 Brainstorm

Think of as many possible solutions as you can and

estimate what kind of effort they’d take to implement
 #3 Prioritize

Rank the potential solutions by how effective they might be

versus how much effort they would take

Don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer what they think of a

particular idea

#4 Explain your ideas and which one

you’d try first and why

Explain how these solutions solve the real problem and

how you arrived at that conclusion

Keep in mind, sometimes the best solution is a very simple

one
 Interviewing
Instructional questions for PM

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How to answer instructional questions

“Teach me how to do X”
The interviewer pretends they don’t know how to do
something and you have to teach them how to do it step
by step

Goal: To demonstrate that you can describe a process or

concept to someone else in an empathetic and effective
way

As a PM, you will have to use this skill every day when
communicating with stakeholders, engineers, or when
writing documentation

In order to answer these questions correctly, follow these

tips:

#1 Tell them what you’re going to tell them

Start by describing what you’re going to teach them and

how many steps it involves
 #2 Be as specific as possible with
your instructions

Break down the process into categories or a series of easy

steps

Don’t assume they have any pre-existing knowledge of the

topic or concepts

#3 Make sure they understand by stopping

occasionally & asking if they have questions

Do the same thing at the end of the presentation

 Behavioral and Interviewing
personality questions for PM

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How to answer behavioral/personality questions

“Tell me about a time when…”

The interviewer wants you to describe something that has
happened in your career when you had to make a difficult
decision, had a large amount of influence over something,
or anything else of significance
Goals:
#1 To see that you have actually experienced and
succeeded in situations that you’re likely to face in your
future PM role
#2 To see if you tend to accept responsibility for
mistakes or if you blame anyone else when something
doesn’t go according to plan

Be honest and tell a story

Explain the details of the situation and how you
collaborated with your team to make things work
Make sure you tell them about any alternative options you
had to handle the situation, and why you didn’t choose
them
Expect follow-up questions from the interviewer, and keep
in mind they will be looking for your behavioral response to
being challenged
 Answering behavioral questions Interviewing
with the PAR framework for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
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How to use the PAR framework

Examples of behavioral questions:

“Tell us about a time you used data to influence an important
stakeholder”
“Tell us about a time you faced failure, and how you
bounced back”
“Tell us about a time you had to say no to an idea or project”
“Tell us about a time you had to build or motivate a team”
“Tell us about the most challenging problem you’ve faced as
a product manager”
“Tell me about a time you had to make a controversial
decision”
“Tell us about a time you had to make a gut decisions
without using data”

The interviewer’s goal is to assess your impact and your

adaptability as a PM
To answer these questions, you can use a framework
called PAR (Problem - Action - Resolution/Results)

#1 Problem

Establish the context and explain what the problem was

Tell them how big the problem was
Tell them what had been tried before to fix it
Tell them who you were working with
Tell them why you thought the problem was worth solving

#2 Action

Explain what you did to fix the problem

Tell them what you proposed doing
Tell them what alternatives you considered
Tell them why you decided on that specific plan of action
Tell them how you implemented it
Tell them what bumps in the road you might have run into
Tell them about any pivots you made along the way and
the reasoning behind it

#3 Resolution/Results

Explain how the action you took led to a positive outcome

Tell them what key metrics you improved
Tell them what the overall impact of your action was
Tell them whether you hit your expectations or exceeded
them
Mention any less tangible benefits that you noticed (e.g. a
shift in attitude in your team or the company)

By showing that you anchored your action to a problem,

you basically show that you understand what a PM does,
and the resolution shows the impact your action had
Example: Answering a behavioral question using PAR
You're a B2B product manager at a company that sells
software for designing, creating, and managing paid
ads for marketing departments at big companies
Question: "Tell us about a time you used data to
influence an important stakeholder"
The achievement: You got a key account to double
their monthly subscription by upgrading their
integration

#1 Problem

Revenue growth was affected because competitors had

recently been copying your software's features and
poaching your customers
You were having trouble getting people to upgrade their
integration
It was a big problem
You were assigned to the biggest key account, with the
biggest budget
Other company initiatives didn't work

#2 Action

You did a quick competitor analysis and found that you had
a unique feature (AI powered system that calculates CTR
on ads before they run)
You called the key account and found out they weren't
using this feature; they told you that they like the idea of
the new feature, but they doubt it works as well as you say
You discovered the feature was hidden in the least used
section; you had a hunch that if they used it, they would
love it
You considered a pop-up but decided it was not a good
idea because users hate pop-ups
You decided to move the feature to a more prominent
section and worked with the dev team to implement it
You decided to only roll this out for that one key account,
and if it worked then you’d suggest it for the rest of the
accounts
In order to get them to use the feature, you designed a 4-
email sequence that explains the benefits of the system
and shows a demonstration of the results
You got a budget approved for a $1,000 test where you
took an ad in a similar space with a similar audience to your
key account, and you ran a live CTR test and compared it to
the results of your tool
You took that live test you ran, packaged it together with
your set of instructions, and send that 4-email sequence
along with moving the tool location

#3 Resolution/Results

Your key account consistently started using the new

feature
The client ended up seeing serious savings & bought more
seats
The client used to pay $50,000/month and now spends
double
General advice for answering behavioral questions:

#1 Don’t state the steps in order as you answer them

#2 Prepare these answers in advance by looking at

everything you did at your previous jobs

#3 Give them all the details they need, but be concise in

your answer

#4 If you’ve never experienced a situation that can properly

answer the question, never say “I haven’t done that” - ask
them if you can answer it for a similar situation

#5 Don’t ever say you “told someone to do something” -

PMs are all about collaboration and influencing without
authority
 Answering case studies Interviewing
and take home work for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
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How to answer take home case studies

Some companies use a take home case study project in

order to filter out unqualified candidates before the
actual interview process

You might be asked to present your solution to a member

of the team or just email it, in the form of a PDF or slide
deck
This practice can be a red flag for the company you’re
applying for, if it feels like you’re just doing free work for
them (some companies do pay promising candidates for
this work, but it’s rare)
With the rise of remote work, take home projects have
become a more common practice
In order to set yourself apart from other candidates, follow
these tips:

#1 Ask for clarification

Ask for more details, and if you don’t get them, make sure
your answer includes how your solution might change if
you had additional data
 #2 Show your thought process

Explain how you reached a certain conclusion

Show which alternative solutions you considered and why

you didn’t choose them

#3 Add extras to stand out

You can perform user interviews or user tests with your

friends and family who use the company’s products

You can make several mock-ups or wireframes of potential

solutions
 How to show off your skills Interviewing
by asking good questions for PM

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Asking the right questions

85% of the product management interview you’ll be

answering questions that interviewers ask you, so you can
use the other 15% to ask THEM questions

Most candidates ask about the company culture, the

organizational structure, the office perks, etc. Keep these
sort of questions as brief as possible and use the end of
the interview to impress the interviewer and show your
interest

#1 Ask questions that show you’re knowledgeable about

the product, competitors, and recent industry news

Example A: A competitor just made a new announcement.

Your question: Is there any internal consensus yet on how
the company will respond to their competitor’s move?

Example B: A new technology is out.

Your question: How do you think the adoption of this new
technology might hurt or help your business?
#2 Ask questions that you can use to your benefit in
other interviews (at this company or another one)

Example: What’s the most important thing to you about the

person to take on this role?

The answers you get will give you valuable information that
will help you be better prepared for future interviews
 Interviewing
Reverse interviewing for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
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Find out if the company is right for you

In order to get the most value for yourself and your future
career, you have to not only focus on making the
interviewer like you, but also figure out if the company
you’re applying for is a good fit for you by asking the
right questions

What you should ask about:

#1 Organization structure

Ask about where the product management team fits in

Red flag: the PMs aren’t autonomous and are rolled into
other departments
This could mean the opportunity for advancement is limited
or that the support you’ll need from executives might not
be there

#2 Upwards mobility

Make sure there’s a clear path to advancement in your PM

career
 #3 Why they’re hiring

Pay attention to what the exact boundaries of the role are

Good sign: the spot is open because someone was
promoted

Bad sign: the spot is open because the person was fired
or quit

Make sure they have a true need for a product manager

with autonomy as opposed to just a project manager to
meet deadlines

#4 Talk as much as possible to the hiring

manager, who is most often going to
be your new boss

Ask them about their product experiences, their

expectations of you, and make sure their goal is to support
you and not micromanage you

Ask these questions as early as possible in the interview

process in order to minimize your lost time if you find this
isn’t the right fit

Be upfront and honest about your expectations and

working style
 3 red flags to look for Interviewing
in each company for PM

in this lecture: LECTURE SUMMARY

Covered
Signs that the company is not a good fit for you

Don’t think of the PM interview process as a one way

street, where you’re the only one being evaluated
Remember you’re smart, your time is valuable, and you will
spend a number of years helping the company improve
their business, so you have to make sure they’re the right fit
for you

What makes a PM happy at a job:

the ability to make decisions
clear expectations about what they need to do to
achieve success
an organization that values product and your
contributions to improving it

Red flag #1: The company is executive-led

instead of product-led

This means the executives make the product decisions and

tell the PM what to do

Questions to ask:
 “Who determines the roadmap?”

good answer: “We look at the problems our customers

are having and we build around that”
okay answer: “The product team determines the
roadmap”
bad answer: “The founder/board/manager or this other
department tells us what to do”
“I don’t know” - maybe you asked the wrong person, so
try digging a bit more

“Why did you build this?”

Red flag #2: The company is a “feature factory”

This means their primary goal is to add more features to the

product, they focus on quantity instead of quality

Features shouldn’t be the goal themselves, they should be

built to solve a problem or get the product closer to a goal

Questions to ask:

“What does this specific team do?”

bad answer: “They’re adding X, Y, Z to the product”

good answer: “They’re trying to improve the
experience of X, Y, Z”

“How often do you push updates to your product?”

bad sign: they push a lot of updates in big batches

good sign: they make smaller improvements more
often
“How often will I be talking to our customers?”

bad sign: the company rarely checks in with customers

good sign: the company talks to customers on a regular
basis
“Tell me about a feature you decided to kill”

bad sign: the company almost never kills any feature

good sign: the company kills features if data suggests
they’re not serving their goals

Red flag #3: The company has a fuzzy definition

of success, both for the company and you

In order to make the right decisions as a PM, you need to

know what you’re working towards

Questions to ask:

“What is the biggest goal you’re trying to achieve right

now?”
“What does success mean for my role as a PM?”

If they can’t answer these questions clearly, you’re in for a

bad experience at that job
 How to improve your Interviewing
presence on Zoom for $0 for PM

in this lecture: LECTURE SUMMARY

Covered
How to look better on camera with no investment

With the rise of remote work, more and more PM interviews

are hosted virtually through platforms like Zoom, especially
in the earlier rounds of interviewing

Aside from knowing your stuff and answering questions

correctly, it’s important to make a good first impression
by looking better on camera

If your video looks bad, it unintentionally sends two signals:

you don’t care about how you present yourself
you are not that tech savvy

There are 2 options for improving your Zoom presence,

and the first one doesn’t involve any extra equipment

Step #1 Decide if you’re going to use your

phone or your computer webcam

Phones have better cameras but are a bit harder to set up

Don’t hold the phone in your hand, make sure you prop it
up in some way or use a phone stand
Use the phone’s front-facing camera so you can see the
people you’re talking to
Make sure the phone films horizontally, not vertically (this is
not an Instagram story)

Step #2 Pick the right room to film in

Avoid noisy or messy spaces

Pay attention to the light in the space - the more light, the
better
computer webcams are bad in low lighting
sit facing a window so your face is well lit
if it’s impossible to face the window, sit to the side so at
least half of your face is well lit (not ideal)
best scenario: face the window and have a flat wall
behind you that you can decorate

Check the acoustics of the room

when there’s a lot of echo, the interviewer will have
trouble understanding what you’re saying
clap and listen to the sound - if you can hear echo, pick
another room or try improving the sound
to improve the acoustics, cover your floor (and,
optionally, walls) with blankets, cushions, or any soft
material

Step #3 Pick your “composition” -

what shows up in the frame

Sit up straight and raise your camera up to your eye level to

make the conversation feel more natural
Use a laptop stand or some books to get it to the right
height
Don’t leave too much gap between the top of your head
and the top of the frame, and don’t have your head cut off
Clean up any mess that can be seen behind you
Keep in mind, people will subconsciously associate
anything they see in the frame with you

Decorate the space behind you with plants and nice

looking objects (don’t overdo it)

Step #4 Use whatever audio you have

Use airpods or other types of ear plug style headphones

instead of your input speakers

Step #5 Finishing touches

Wear the same clothes you’d wear to an in person

interview

If your face is not well lit, place some lamps in front of you

Prep yourself the same way you’d prep for a date (shave,
style your hair, put on concealer to hide blemishes, etc.)
 How to impress on Zoom Interviewing
with extra equipment for PM

in this lecture: LECTURE SUMMARY

Covered
Upgrade your equipment to look great on camera

The second option for making yourself look better in a

remote interview involves investing in some extra
equipment, but if you know you’re going to be on a lot of
Zoom calls, it’s worth it

Upgrading your video

Option #1 Get a USB webcam such as the Logitech C920

You don’t need a 4K webcam, they’re more expensive and

the quality is not a lot better than 1080p

Option #2 Use a 1080p DSLR camera

You need a camera that has a HDMI out port

You also need a capture card in order to process the
image and send it to your computer in real time
Select your camera as your video source in Zoom or
whatever streaming platform you’re using
In order to mount and position the camera, you can get a
camera stand or a stand that you can clamp on your desk in
front of you
 Upgrading your lighting

Adding artificial lighting will dramatically improve your video

quality because it’s consistent and you can adjust it to
create whatever effect you want
In a Zoom call, we’re not trying to convey emotions through
lighting, we just want the other person so see us clearly

Go for “flat lighting”, which means lighting up both sides of

your face evenly
Option #1 Get a pair of daylight softboxes and position
them behind your desk, each one equally distanced from
you and the camera
Downside: The lights aren’t dimmable, so in order to adjust
light intensity you have to move them closer or farther away
from you

Option #2 Get some LED boxes

Downside: The light is not soft enough and it will create

harsh shadows on your face
Option #3: Get a tube light and mount it on your desk in
front of you with a clamp stand
Pros: They’re compact and the light wraps around your face
nicely
Cons: The grip that holds the light is a bit expensive ($60)

Option #4 Hang Chinese lanterns above you or on the

side to get a more diffuse light

TIP: Use Wi-Fi enabled plugs for more convenience, and

get the dimmable version if you have a dimmable tube light
 Lighting your background

This is optional, but it’s a nice extra touch to make your

video look even better
Option #1 Use a softbox and point it at your background
Option #2 Use Chinese lanterns or lantern style LED
lights

Upgrading your audio

Option #1 Get a USB condenser microphone (e.g. Blue

Snowball)

In order to position the mic near your mouth, you can use
the legs that come with the mic or get a boom arm that you
clamp on your desk and adjust as needed

Get a wind screen to prevent unwanted noises from P and

T sounds
Plug the mic into your computer and select it as the audio
source on Zoom
Downside: The microphone can be seen in the frame,
which is not ideal
Option #2 Get a shotgun microphone (e.g. Audio
Technica AT875R)

You will need another device that gives the mic “phantom
power”, such as the Scarlett Solo, which connects to the
mic and to your computer (the cheaper option: the iRig Pre)
 Improving your room reverb

Do a test recording to see how echo-y is the room you’re

filming in
If there’s a lot of echo, you need to do an acoustic
treatment

Option #1 Cover the floor with rugs, blankets, or other

soft materials

Option #2 Buy acoustic foam and put it on the

walls/ceiling
Option #3 Buy acoustic panels and put them on the walls
(more expensive, but you don’t need a lot of them)

Decorating the wall behind you

Use bookshelves, plants, or any other nice looking objects

Optional: Add a reference monitor

near your camera

This will help you see the person you’re talking to while
looking straight into the camera

Option #1: Get a 1080p reference monitor and a cold

shoe mount and stick it on top of your camera, then
connect it to your computer with an HDMI cord
Option #2 Get a teleprompter, put the camera inside of it,
then put the reference monitor in the teleprompter tray

This makes it seem like you’re looking directly into their

eyes while you look at the lens of the camera, which makes
the conversation more natural
 Failing to get the job - Interviewing
Reasons it happens and for PM
what you can do about it
LECTURE SUMMARY
this lecture:
Covered in
Reasons why you might fail the interview

With each interview process you go through, you will get

better at answering questions, which will increase your
chances of getting the next job

Take mental notes of every question and then when you

get home start researching them

If they ask you about a topic you’re not familiar with,

research that topic after the interview

Sometimes, failure is unavoidable, and it happens even

if you answer all the questions correctly

Random reasons why you might fail the interview:

#1 The interviewers see product management

as a useless position

What to do: Let them know you emphasize collaboration

#2 The interviewers are afraid hiring you

will mean more work for them
What to do: Ask about their process, don’t prescribe any
tools/software, focus on problem solving

#3 The interviewer is not a nice person

or they’re tired that day

What to do: There’s not much you can do in this situation

#4 The interviewer feels threatened

for their job/a friend’s job

What to do: Be empathetic towards their struggles, let them

know you’ll support them

Don’t take it personally if you don’t get the job, focus on

improving yourself for the next interview
 Doing a side project Interviewing
to stand out for PM

LECTURE SUMMARY
this lecture:
Covered in
What doing a side project means

Something that will help you stand out among other

candidates is working on a side project for the company
you’re interviewing for

The goal is to find out what the company is working on and

show them how you would approach the problem if you
were to be hired

Research the company or ask relevant questions during

your first interview, then go home and put together a
comprehensive document describing your solution

Such a documentation might include things like:

descriptions of the research you’ve done

the approaches you would consider
technical limitations you’ve found
wireframes of potential solutions
A/B tests you would run
competitive overviews
user feedback from friends of yours who use the
company’s products
When it’s done, email the document to the recruiter / hiring
manager, thanking them for the interview and telling them
that you’ve put together suggestions to demonstrate your
interest in working with them

Even if you don’t get that job, you can add this case study
to your portfolio and show it to the next recruiter or hiring
manager

It might look like a lot of work, but since not many people
do it, you will definitely have an advantage over other
candidates
 Things to do after Interviewing
you get the job for PM

in this lecture: LECTURE SUMMARY

Covered
The first things to do when you start work

Product management is a job that has one of the longest

ramp up times - it takes a while until you’re completely
comfortable with the role

What to do as soon as you get the job and start work:

#1 Schedule a 1-on-1 with everyone on the team

Meet with the leaders of each major team

Ask what their goals are and what challenges they have

Meet with the lead engineer on your team to talk about

technical details and make sure you understand how
everything works

#2 Start talking to users

Get user feedback so you can understand what is

important to users

Ask to join in on a sales call, go to sales meetings, spend

time with the customer service team, etc.
Do a Google search to see what people are saying about
the company and products

#3 Read every internal document

you can get your hands on

Get informed about what happened with the product over

time

#4 Look at the data

Analyze the existing metrics for the product

Have a meeting with the data science team and discuss

any plans around implementing more tracking

#5 Meet with the boss (head of product or CEO)

Ask them what expectations they have for your role

Understand their goals and talk about improving specific

metrics and other processes