Hire Top Growth and Products Professionals. As mentioned earlier, it’s an extremely important role that can decide the very future of an upcoming (or an existing) product. A fellow at Caixa, he’s currently researching the impact of platform economics on global development dynamics. I took the liberty of gathering 15 of the most common technical product manager interview questions, and splitting them up into the following categories: Before getting into the specifics, a hiring manager should ideally start by finding out whether or not the candidate is suitable for the position. Working in silos and resisting collaboration with other departments is a classic recipe for disaster. * Tell me about a time when you had to build or motivate a team. But that’s really not the best place to start, anyway. In fact, you can become a product manager without significant tech experience. The 3 Sets of Technical Product Manager Interview Questions. Take our Technical Product Manager course. A technical product manager is a critical piece of the product management puzzle. Find the needle in the haystack with our help. Testing Your Technical Awareness Instead, let’s talk about strategy. Published in With the help of the following questions, the interviewer can gauge the technical skills and the relevant life experience of the candidate: This question is an opportunity for candidates to highlight their strengths and outline what technical skills will help them succeed on the job. Are you sitting comfortably? To keep up with all of those challenges and ensure the product’s success, people have come up with different methodologies over the years. SHARES. Have you used them in the past? But to make sure you hit on the main points every interview should cover, these eleven product manager interview questions are the best for you to reveal your candidates values and intentions: 1. Recruiters will use this question to judge the priorities of the potential TPM. We teach product management, data analytics, coding, digital marketing, UX design and product leadership courses in 16 campuses across the US, UK, and Canada and live, online. List of Product Manager Interview Questions: General / Personal / Basic Why should we hire you? Read our tips from top interview experts and be more prepared at your interview than anyone else. Here are the most frequent job interview questions asked by HR managers during initial phone or onsite interviews. What is your experience with juggling both markets? Here’s a list of some common product manager interview questions and answers. I call these “toe dipping” questions because it’s similar to checking the temperature of a pool to see if it’s right. Some might even go as far as protesting that it’s impossible, due to the purely technical nature of the job. Here is the ultimate list of Technical product manager interview questions and answers to prepare you for your PM job interview. In case they’re not aware of the project they’re being interviewed for, they should at least do some research about their potential employer. ... Over 1,000 product manager interview questions from the best tech companies in the world. Learn about interview questions and interview process for 1,406 companies. Therefore, Google product managers tend to be more technical than others. It will not mean the same to answer a Technical Product Manager vacancy at a growing startup than at a large digital corporation. While we make X product for the general public, we also have a B2B division. An easy way to tell if a person is experienced in their field is to ask them to explain what they do. The hiring manager will ask questions that cover a broad range of topics — from learning who you are to gauging your technical knowledge, business sense, and decision-making abilities. It is important that you do not mislead on either your resume or your application letter. If the candidate has ample experience in their field, impressive knowledge, and a proven track record, it doesn’t matter if they never got the opportunity to supervise a team. What do you think makes a Technical Product Manager stand out? Share Tweet. From larger tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple, to small Silicon Valley startups, technical product managers are growing in demand everywhere. This demonstrates a sense of critical thinking that any good technical product manager must have. What technical skill do you have that sets you apart as a product manager? The product manager, as Ben Horowitz so memorably put it, is the “CEO of the product.” This person is your primary brain trust when it comes to designing and building a beautiful, user-friendly and commercially successful software product. Why do we recommend a different approach? There are two types of technical interview questions: Technical explanation questions and Algorithm questions. It is important that you do not mislead on either your resume or your application letter. Product Manager - Technical interview questions | InterviewAnswers Interview Question #3 Explain your experience handling the refresh of an application stack from the application down to the infrastructure? How did you work with your engineers in your current or previous role? Product managers are often portrayed as tech-versed professionals. So be honest and direct. To do this, experienced recruiters will definitely ask the following (or at least something similar): At first, this may sound like a super-generic and overused question. Can you tell me whether you have had similar experiences in the past? 1. Finally, the recruiter would want to test perhaps the most important soft skill needed to become a technical product manager – leadership. What attracts you the most to this project: our product or our company? List of Product Manager Interview Questions: * What aspects of product management do you find the most exciting? What would you do the next time differently? 80+ Product Manager Interview Questions [Ultimate List], 30+ Facebook Product Manager Interview Questions, 30+ Google Product Manager Interview Questions, Pushing their mental limits to achieve something great. This company wants you to provide and defend an original vision, which can be translated and broken up into tasks for other teams to execute. Everyone knows the best practices and the unwritten rules of morality, but when deadlines close in and emotions run high, some people crumble under the pressure. How do you ensure that market-oriented teams fully understand technical challenges? How do you measure success with a product. Why? The career path is certainly lucrative, with exciting perks and handsome pay packages, but it’s also one of those jobs that not everyone can do. If the candidate’s answer ticks both of those boxes, they’re golden. Do you tend to be more business-oriented or technical-oriented? It's important that the candidate's answer aligns with the position requirements. 1. What do you understand by a Product Manager? February 3, 2020 - 7 min read by Roy Cobby. This article was originally published on The Product School blog. Whether you’re a regular PM, a TPM, or a PMM (product marketing manager), you need to have a knack for teamwork. A Google search turns up many list of Product Manager interview questions, even interview simulations, often written directly for Product Managers. A project manager will drive the day to day activities for every meeting, will be very detailed about who’s doing what, and will be responsible for the on-budget and on-time delivery of commitments. When things go south, a great leader doesn’t throw their team members under the bus. More and more, companies specialize in technological niches with their own dynamics, languages, and tools. But cracking product manager interviews can be tricky. You are meant to be the perfect combination of geek and salesperson: think Steve Jobs. What is your opinion of them? Roy is a content genius, who goes all-in on research to bring you only the most thorough and accurate insights. 10 Product Manager Interview Questions From Best Tech Companies Finding the perfect product manager for your company can be intimidating. The key variables are: seniority of the role, economic sector, and company size. When interviewing in the tech industry, expect to be asked questions about your training and certifications, as well as behavioral questions, situational questions, questions about your knowledge of tech tools and design, and questions about your work habits and processes. Hiring a technical product manager isn’t exactly a walk in the park. What does a product manager do? Tell me about a time when you had to build or motivate a team. What’s a cool innovative technology or product that you’ve seen recently … Thus, TPMs are more heavily situated in the heart of the product factory, but they still have their eyes on the customer. This will let the recruiter know that you are adaptable: everybody knows that techniques change every few years whatever the industry, so nobody can ever dominate the full skill set. To test the candidate’s technical know-how and level of hands-on experience, a recruiter might ask if they have ample experience with any of the methodologies. We analyzed 300 interview reviews for Product Consultant from various job sites, social network groups and forums.. This is the case for many B2B operations, where teams are developing products for other companies. This question has the same essence as the very first one. Communication, collaboration, and consistency – or as I like to call them, the “3 Cs of product” – are key to winning the race. The hiring manager will ask questions that cover a broad range of topics — from learning who you are to gauging your technical knowledge, business sense, and decision-making abilities. Let’s begin! Each set has 7 different questions as examples, but remember that you can combine or change the components slightly to understand how recruiters try to assess your fitness to the role. Are there any differences with regular Product Management? Product management is a very hands-on field. This question ensures that your teams remain well-balanced. Describe your methodology step by step. Many mass products launched by Google also started as solutions for specific teams within the company. And they don’t just stop there – they go one step ahead and come up with a solution to prevent this from happening again. You must understand when a decision makes sense and back it with accurate data depending on these two equally important pillars. What are the key conflicts between the development and business teams? The interviewer isn’t looking for an accurate response or a textbook definition here. When creating a new product, prioritization matters a lot. Bijan’s last job was Head of Product at a tech company in San Francisco. Want to ace your technical product manager interview? In fact, the ability to “prioritize tasks” is often included in the required skillsets of TPM job descriptions. 15 leading technical recruiters and hiring managers share their favorite questions to ask technical job candidates. The way that this question is answered could make the difference between a good and a great candidate clear for recruiters. What is the importance of engineers and technical teams as stakeholders? But product teams don’t have all the time in the world. The interviewer can use this question to see the type of work the candidate enjoys (and whether their interests align with that of their organization). It’s vital to find the perfect profile to fill in this position. Core Product Questions: 1. The 3 Sets of Technical Product Manager Interview Questions. If they’re able to suggest some new promising product features during the interview, they already have one foot inside the door. Different from what many think, technical product managers must also have strong communication skills. How would you face a technical challenge you have never encountered before? The interview questions asked are largely up to each interviewer, and there is little or no coordination between interviewers. This question somewhat overlaps with the previous one. While explaining what is involved with a Technical PM position is beyond the remit of this article, it is important to understand those distinctions that justify a certain interviewing style.So, whether you are an active TPM or an aspiring … This is the meaty part, where you have to … Their discipline is the leading one in Silicon Valley, right? These are two key, interrelated questions. Mentioning something they would change on the product is a plus. 20 Product Owner Interview Questions and Answers. A product manager is also responsible for the delivery but they will act more as a business owner, responsible for the success or failure of the product or service in the market. For that reason, knowing some common technical product manager interview questions can help – whether you’re a hiring manager or a TPM candidate. Product Manager Interview Questions. That means some of the Google product manager interview questions would be technical in nature. Technical product manager interview questions answers. How to get hired by nailing the 20 most common interview questions employers ask. We have offered you a selection of plausible questions that you could get in an interview situation. The company needs to know whether you are suitable for the advertised vacancy. There are deadlines to meet and competitors to beat. Making the right — or wrong — choice can have a profound impact on your company's success. In my opinion, this is the easier part of the interview. That’s what they would want to do – see if the person they’re interviewing is right, to avoid wasting their time on the wrong person. Before, we used to rely on X company to provide Y service, but we are currently bringing it in-house. These are two key, interrelated questions. If you are interviewing for a product management position at a high-growth or innovation-focused company, expect a tough interview process. If they don’t know the company or the product they’d be working on, it’s going to look bad. What is a Technical Product Management interview like? For that reason, knowing some common technical product manager interview questions can help – whether you’re a hiring manager or a TPM candidate. Hiring a product manager is not a trivial undertaking. Answer tips: Try to avoid labels. This list does not include technical or factual questions. This goes back to the importance of preparation and judging the candidate’s ability to perform under pressure. The increasing complexity of the tech industry is adding pressure onto busy product teams. February 3, 2020 - 7 min read by Roy Cobby. Be wary of candidates with poor problem-solving … How do you align technical goals with business targets? In short, devoting equal time to the developmental and business factors involved in ensuring your product’s success. 20 Product Owner Interview Questions and Answers. Let's dive in. A person with little experience will provide a long job description, sprinkled with jargon that even they probably don’t fully understand. Knowing the right product manager interview questions to ask can increase your chances of finding a reliable and … These unique fields call for a unique role. In fact, in bigger operations, regular PM and TPM teams complement each other. Again – a recruiter may choose to ask this question right in the beginning. 13 Common Product Manager Interview Questions & Answers. What do you do in your spare time? It’s a clever (and rather unorthodox) way of testing whether they truly understand what the job is all about and what it exactly entails. What do you need from your manager … Show humility and an eagerness to enlarge your toolbox. In short, they represent fully-equipped PMs with a flair for programming, development and engineering. While the answers may vary, the best possible way would to sketch out a rough roadmap or the step-by-step process they would take to handle the situation. Think of Customer Service solutions, messaging bots, payment applications… All of these, which are often called SaaS, are meant to solve problems that arise in a business setting. This … 3. Knowing the right product manager interview questions to ask can increase your chances of finding a reliable and … We’re all on a path of learning. One important part of Interview Questions For A Technical Program Manager is to prepare well for behavioral interview questions. You should approach a product owner interview … So people add two plus two, and they figure that every single worker must have a deep understanding of matters like coding, automating and other complex software engineering topics. The most widely recognized is the agile methodology. If the candidate lists the wrong reasons, such as decent pay or the chance to boss people around, the interviewer could mark it down as a red-flag. Roy is a content genius, who goes all-in on research to bring you only the most thorough and accurate insights. How does this position fit in your overall Product Management career path? Product manager interview questions vary depending on the position and the product but practicing questions like this and using The Product Manager newsletter can help you prepare for the interview process. Would you be comfortable with this type of project? This is where tech and business meet. Furthermore, they’d want to see if they would use the best practices to overcome the challenge with their team(s). 15+ Best Engineering Manager Interview Questions & Answers. Can you clarify how you have used them in the past? Once you have shown that you are perfect for the role and can prove your technical prowess, it is time to link them back to the big picture. To gauge where the candidate stands, the recruiter might pop this question during the interview. A technical product manager is a critical piece of the product management puzzle. Hence, technical product management interviews can last for as long as an hour (sometimes even longer). PMs don't need to be developers but they need to understand how technology works. Technical Product Management Interview Questions 1. If you are interviewing for a product management position at a high-growth or innovation-focused company, expect a tough interview process. Therefore, you should have ready answers to the following: This is the meaty part, where you have to demonstrate an understanding of whatever systems they use at the company. Sounds enticing? List of Product Manager Interview Questions: What aspects of product management do you find the most exciting? All you need to do is have 5 to 8 different stories/project ready which you can use for various questions. We are very interested in training our PMs on the technical side of the business. Helps you prepare job interviews and practice interview skills and techniques. There’s no shortage of possible questions to ask a product management candidate. That’s because the recruiter actually wants to know how the candidate would handle a stressful technical situation. This will tell the interviewer a lot about the candidates' understanding of what's behind good product development, and about their passion for the field.