Interviews
Behavioral Questions
Are you preparing for a job interview in the product management field but don’t know which questions to expect? Look no further as I’ve compiled a comprehensive list of product interview questions that cover a wide range of topics.
By practicing these questions repeatedly, I was able to secure several job offers during the layoff season. Preparing for these interviews and developing skills in answering them is crucial for any candidate seeking a product management or business analyst position. So, take some time to practice and be prepared for any question that may come your way in your next product management job interview.
On the list, we have questions regarding the following topics:
Here you can find all the behavioral questions that would be asked during your Product interview. These questions not only test your product management skills, but also show your interpersonal and problem solving skills. Most of the time, they will be asked in the later rounds of the product interview process.
When answering this question, it’s important to share why you’re passionate about product management and what motivates you to work in this field. You could talk about your interest in problem-solving and how you enjoy taking a product from ideation to launch. It is important to highlight how your knowledge and skills fit with the requirements of a PM.
When discussing your strengths, highlight what sets you apart as a product manager/owner. Examples could include being a good communicator, highly organized, detail-oriented, creative, etc. As for weaknesses, be honest about areas where you struggle, but always share what steps you have taken to address these weaknesses. Explain how you have developed your skillset and actively work to improve.
Firstly, highlight the success of the whole product/company via key metrics that you use to evaluate the product performance. These could include metrics such as monthly active users (MAU), revenue, net promoter score, churn rate, etc.
It’s also important to mention how the success of the Scrum team and customers’ satisfaction tie into your evaluation of the product’s performance.
Finally, discuss how you evaluate your own personal success as a product manager/owner. Highlight how you track your development in skills and knowledge, your capacity to collaborate and communicate effectively with the rest of the team.
Please be aware not to badmouth your current or previous employer. Instead, focus on the reasons why you’re excited about this new opportunity and how it aligns with your career goals. Explain how you’re seeking new challenges and opportunities to grow.
Discuss what you hope to learn and accomplish in this new position. Highlight the skills you want to develop, the type of products you want to work on, and how you hope to contribute to the team. Discuss what aspects of the company and product specifically drew you to the role.
In answering this question, discuss how you handle disagreements and conflicting ideas. Talk about how you encourage open communication and strive to understand other perspectives. Share examples of how you work collaboratively with team members to reach a consensus and resolve any issues that arise.
This question is to test your product sense. Please make sure you have in mind a favorite product. You should be specific about why it’s your favorite and what aspects of the product you admire. Locate the features that make the product stand out and stand above the competition. Additionally, provide suggestions on how you would improve the product, basing your solutions on your experience as a PM.
A very similar question is when the interviewer asks if you have any suggestion to improve their product or another product.
To ensure that you are building the right product, it’s important to keep three critical factors in mind: the input, the development process, and the launch. The success of your product depends on how it meets the needs of both customers and the company. Specifically, the product aims to solve customer pain points and address their needs, and at the same time, aligns with the company’s objectives and priorities, generating benefits both financially and non-financially.
To accomplish this, several steps are necessary, including having ideas from customers, conducting competitor research, and collecting other relevant data that is verified by market launch. It is crucial to get user feedback as early as possible in the development process, so you can make timely iterations and adjustments to your product. Additionally, once your product has launched, continue tracking its performance, and collect final feedback for further refinements.
Explain how to use existing research data and secondary sources to gain insight into user behavior and preferences. Discuss analytical approaches that may be useful and how you would iterate or pivot based on data analysis.
When a manager is pushing for a timeline, it’s important to evaluate why there is a need to adjust the timeline and communicate this reason with the team. The team needs to be clear about the timeline adjustment and motivated to work accordingly.
Once the reason for the timeline adjustment is clear, there are different options to consider.
In answering this question, be honest about areas where you struggle and discuss how you’re taking steps to improve your skills. Provide examples of relevant training, self-study programs, or other initiatives that show your dedication to growth in the product management field.
The interviewer is looking to understand your potential for growth and development. Also, they would like to see if the career path at their company is a good fit with your expectation.
Be honest about your aspirations and make sure they align with the organization’s goals. You might want to reiterate that you’re excited about this role and the opportunity to grow and develop within the company. Align your response with the company’s values and mission statement, and show how your long-term goals align with those of the company.
The interviewer wants to understand your self-awareness, your ability to reflect, and learn from your mistakes. Be honest and authentic about your weaknesses, be sure to show how you have worked to improve in that area, and give examples of steps you have taken in the past to overcome this weakness.
Explain the process you used to determine the user needs, your approach to designing and developing the feature and how you worked with the team to ensure its success. This question will show your approaches to product delivery.
In this question, the interviewer is looking for your understanding and consideration of data-driven decision-making. Please remember to show how you learned from the experience, and how you adjusted your decision-making process based on that outcome.
The interviewer is interested in assessing your ability to communicate effectively, handle conflict, and work collaboratively with the team. Stick with the STAR structure when talking about this case. Highlight how you were able to come up with a resolution that pleased both you and your manager.
The interviewer is trying to assess your decision-making ability, your thought process, and how you handle pressure. Again, stick to your STAR model in order not to miss any important part of the story.
This is the question to find out your problem-solving skill as well as your creativity. Make sure you think of a very interesting example beforehand and practice it with the STAR model.
The interviewer is looking for your ability to document, organize, and streamline workflows. Give an example of a process you have built, such as a new product development or feature release process. Walk through the steps you took to identify and establish the process, how you documented it, and any challenges you encountered along the way.
This question is to test your ability to balance immediate needs with long-term goals. Explain the situation and the difficulties involved, walk the interviewer through your thought process, and show how the sacrifice you made helped you achieve long-term benefits for the team or company. For me, I would bring up the Configuration cases or the features that I have to build in phases.
The interviewer wants to see your creativity and resourcefulness. You can provide a case when you came up with a very smart idea but solve a big issue. Or you can also mention a case when you took many ownership to make things done.