Top 8 Most Common Product Manager Round 1 Interview Questions

Question 1

Tell Me About Yourself.

Answer 1

Thank you so much for taking the time to schedule this call with me

I always start every interview wanting to know what was it about my background that stood out to you so much that prompted you to schedule a call with me

Perfect!

Why, Why, Why, Why, Why?

Oh that’s interesting let me know tell more about how I can help or…

So, I guess this is where I come in; right?

Question 2

What is Your Reason for Looking “RFL”?

Answer 2

I recently just completed …. And I am looking for my next challenge right now

You know what the craziest thing is?

Talk about law of attraction

I am actually looking specifically for a position right now where I would get an opportunity to… (answer from question 1)

ie research new product lines, build an ecommerce platform from scratch, or hire and build an overseas engineering team

Question 3

Why Do You Want to Work Here?

Answer 3

That’s a no brainer for me.

I mean who wouldn’t want to work here.

I have been watching “COMPANY NAME” for a while now and it’s been really impressive everything “COMPANY NAME” has accomplished.

Let’s just take the last 3 or 6 months for example.

Just this quarter “COMPANY NAME” … last month …., this month or last Week …

Question 4

What are You Targeting in Terms of Salary?

Answer 4

What do you have budgeted for the position?

Listen (polite tone), I have a lot friends that are recruiters and I understand why you are asking this question, I really do.

Which is why I think you can understand that you are kind of putting me between a rock and a hard place, because if I give you a number too low… I don’t value myself, if I give you a number too high… I price myself out of the market

Why don’t you give me the range FIRST and I will let you know if that is aligned with what I am looking for or I could do some research on my own for what a product with xyz experience should ask for

Question 5

What is Your Biggest Weakness or Describe a Time When You Overcame a Challenge

Answer 5

Situation ~ When I first started (grace period for making mistakes) at “COMPANY NAME”

Task ~ They a different way they (ie managed a roadmap, backlog, wrote user stories)

Action ~ I bought the “STAKEHOLDER” (mirror the interviewer) lunch, dinner, drinks

Result ~ I was able to overcome “WEAKNESS OR CHALLENGE” in time frame “LESS THAN 30 DAYS), which resulted in money earned, saved, or time saved

Question 6

What is Your Biggest Strength or Describe Your Biggest Accomplishment

Answer 6

I extremely competitive when it comes to driving revenue targets, I am always trying to understand what KPIs influence revenue and how we can improve them (make money)

I am extremely obsessed with understanding how to better serve our customers be it external or internal. Products are only effective if they can be used, otherwise we wasted a lot of time and money building things people don’t care about (save money)

My greatest strength as a product manager is understanding what everybody is good at and making sure I try to remove as much distraction and friction so they can focus on what they do best (save time)

Question 7

How Do You Manage, Resolve, or Handle Conflict Between 2 Stakeholders?

Answer 7

Is there a protocol or standard operating procedure you guys follow here for resolving conflict, because in my experience what works well with one company or even one team within the same company MIGHT NOT be as effective with another company or team?

Without knowing the stakeholders (depends a lot on the position) personally or having prior knowledge of the frequency or the severity of the conflict … here’s what I would do

If this was a problem thrown in front of me at, say; 1 PM in the afternoon after I had lunch, what I would do is talk to each person SEPARATELY, because everybody has their own side of the story (chuckle) … good old he said she said right

I would then bring both parties together and find a resolution (ie process update)

Question 8

Are You Actively Interviewing Right Now?

Answer 8

Yes, I am interviewing right now with X companies.

I currently have X Round 1’s, X Round 2s, and X Round 3s. (ALWAYS 1 ROUND BEFORE AND AFTER)

I only applied to a few companies, but recruiters have been aggressively throwing me into as many interviews as they can coincidently those companies are also looking for someone with (desired experience)… the market is crazy right now

I actually don’t have the bandwidth to go on all of them even if I wanted, since I am also very selective with the companies I interview with.