Cracking the PM Interview

Gayle L. McDowell | Founder / CEO, CareerCup

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Cracking the PM InterviewHow to Land a Product Manager Job

Nov 12, 2016 | Chicago Booth

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Hi! I’m Gayle Laakmann McDowell

Author Interview Coach Interview Consulting

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(CS)

(MBA)

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Yes! Slides are online!

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The Perfect PM

Leadership &

Execution

Technical

Product

Industry

Business

------ the ------Perfect PM------ is a ------MYTH


The Real Question(s)

What do you have?

What do you need?

What do I assume?

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design

Analysis & Synthesis

Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things Done

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneEngineer

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneMarketing

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneDesign

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneProject Manager

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneCustomer Service

Smar

t

Strategy & Vision

Leadership

Customer Focus

Product Design


Action Oriented

Prioritization

Project Management

Technical Skills

Communication

Gets Things DoneBusiness Analyst

McDowell | CareerCup.com

What good is an MBA?• VERY mixed opinions• Be humble!• What else ya got?– Industry expertise?– Technical skills?– Business skills?– Product skills?

McDowell | CareerCup.com

Recruiting for MBAs• Most positions don’t need it–… and may not even value it

• On campus recruiting for big companies

• Networking for startups/smaller companies– Be aggressive!

BehavioralTell me about yourself…


The Good Enough Pitch

• Shows of success

• Prompt the interviewer

• Hobbies


The Great Pitch

Tells an [engaging] story Sends a message. Who are you,

really? Addresses your “stereotype”


Developing Your Stories: Strategy 1

Job 1 Job 2LeadershipSuccessesChallengesMistakesConflicts


Developing Your Stories: Strategy 2

Strengths Data? Risk-taking? Thoroughness? Empathy? Resilience?

Weaknesses Detail-

oriented? Bluntness? Too optimistic? Sensitivity? Impatient?


Goals of Answering Behavioral Qs

Good Content

Good Communication+


Structure 1: Nugget First

Lead with your “thesis” / nugget Grabs the listener’s attention Gives them context for where you’re

going.

I’m most proud of program I set up to …

Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?


Structure 2: S.A.R.

S

A

R

What was the issue?

What did you do about it?

What was the impact?

What’s the message?


Story Diagram

Story 1 Story 2NUGGETSITUATIONACTIONWhat & Why & HowRESULTTHE MESSAGEDO DIFFERENTLY

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MostCommon

Issues

Too much “we”, too little “I” Especially leaders &

women Too little action No message

----- don’t -----sugarcoat------ the ------bad stuff


What I’m looking for

If you’ll admit to bad stuff If you’ve really failed How you respond to bad things


Weaknesses, Failures & Mistakes

Be REAL Be COMPELLING Be CHANGED

The best candidates connect

Product DesignHow would you design a…02

How would you design an alarm clock for the blind?

What’s your favorite app? Why?

Pick a Google product. How would you improve it?

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Gayle Laakmann McDowell

What I’m

LookingFor

Communication User empathy Creativity Judgment


How to Tackle

1. Define the user Ask questions Are there multiple users?

2. Discuss use cases, problems & goals

3. Design4. Wrap-up


And don’t forget…

theUSER

theWHITEBOARD


Make sure you know

Favorite WEBSITE Favorite MOBILE APP Favorite PHYSICAL PRODUCT Favorite COMPANY PRODUCT


Your Favorites

Why do you love it? Who are the users? What do they use it for? How do they competitors compare? What problems are there? How would you improve it?

not all favoritesare created equal

EstimationHow many and who cares?03

How much money does Gmail make in a year?

How many airplanes land in a day?

How many golf balls can fit in a bus?

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Gayle Laakmann McDowell

WhyWeAsk

Smarts Ballparking Matters Comfort with

numbers


How to Tackle

1. Ask questions to resolve ambiguity Don’t make assumptions (yet)

2. Outline / Structure Your Approach3. Break down the components

Assume numbers when necessary State assumptions explicitly Round numbers to make your math

easier4. Sanity Check

Do your numbers make sense?

How much money does

Gmail make in a year?


Step 1: Ambiguous Information

Just in the US? Or Worldwide? Profit or revenue? Past year? Or average over history? Gmail only? Or include Google

Apps?


Step 2: Outline Your Approach

1. Estimate # of Gmail users2. Estimate annual clicks

a. Top clicksb. Side clicks

3. Estimate $ per clicka. Top clicksb. Side clicks


Step 3: Break down components

Estimate # of Gmail users in the US1. Assume 300 million people in the US.

Exclude 0 - 12 years old and 65 - 75 years old ~ 200 million

2. Assume 80% of people use email But 50% only use their work email acct

3. Assume 80% use a “major” email provider

Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc.… and so on …


Step 4: Sanity Check

Suppose you get US rev. = $5 billion.

No, because… Google’s annual revenue is ~$30 billion $16 / US citizen (not just gmail users)

Case & Misc. QuestionsThe other questions04

How would you launch Amazon in Turkey?

How would you price a new e-book reader?

User signs up drop after launching new profiles. What would you do?


Many other question types!

Problem solving Acquisition rates dropped. Why?

Strategy Should we do X or Y?

Marketing How would you market X to Y?

Pricing How would you price X?

Launching How would you launch X in country Y?

Brainstorming Name as many things you could do with X


Generic Structure

1. Understand/define problem2. Structure3. Solve

Use instincts Make reasonable assumptions

DRIVE the DISCUSSION


Useful Frameworks

Customer Purchase Decision Making Process

Marketing Mix (4 Ps) SWOT Analysis Five Cs Porter’s 5 Forces

But it’s not a test of frameworks


Useful Metrics & Knowledge

User Acquisition #, growth, active users, etc

Activity What are people doing?

Money Customer acquisition costs Revenue $ growth

want yourgut instincts

TakeawaysIf you forget everything else…05


If you forget everything…

Know who you are (and who we think you are)

Focus on the user Structure your responses

I could write a whole book

on this!


Other Resources

Gayle.com

CareerCup.com

CrackingTheCodingInterview.com

Or, follow me online • facebook.com/gayle• twitter.com/gayle• gayle.com• [email protected]• quora.comEmail:

[email protected] Subject: PMprep