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Gayle L. McDowell | Founder / CEO, CareerCup
gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Cracking the PM InterviewHow to Land a Product Manager Job
May 4, 2016 | Product School
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 2
Hi! I’m Gayle Laakmann McDowell
Author Interview Coach Interview Consulting
<dev>
</dev>
(CS)
(MBA)
Gayle Laakmann McDowell 3gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Yes! Slides are online!
Gayle.com Click “Events”
Email: [email protected]
Subject: PMprep
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 4
The Perfect PM
Leadership &
Execution
Technical
Product
Industry
Business
------ the ------Perfect PM------ is a ------MYTH
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 6
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
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneEngineer
Smar
t
Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Customer Focus
Product Design
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneMarketing
Smar
t
Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Customer Focus
Product Design
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneDesign
Smar
t
Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Customer Focus
Product Design
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneProject Manager
Smar
t
Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Customer Focus
Product Design
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneCustomer Service
Smar
t
Strategy & Vision
Leadership
Customer Focus
Product Design
Analysis & Synthesis
Action Oriented
Prioritization
Project Management
Technical Skills
Communication
Gets Things DoneBusiness Analyst
BehavioralTell me about yourself…
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 15
The Good Enough Pitch
• Shows of success
• Prompt the interviewer
• Hobbies
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 16
The Great Pitch
Tells an [engaging] story Sends a message. Who are you,
really? Addresses your “stereotype”
Gayle Laakmann McDowell 17gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Developing Your Stories: Strategy 1
Job 1 Job 2LeadershipSuccessesChallengesMistakesConflicts
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Developing Your Stories: Strategy 2
Strengths Data? Risk-taking? Thoroughness? Empathy? Resilience?
Weaknesses Detail-
oriented? Bluntness? Too optimistic? Sensitivity? Impatient?
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Goals of Answering Behavioral Qs
Good Content
Good Communication+
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 20
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?
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 21
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?
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Story Diagram
Story 1 Story 2NUGGETSITUATIONACTIONWhat & Why & HowRESULTTHE MESSAGEDO DIFFERENTLY
gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 23Gayle Laakmann McDowell
MostCommon
Issues
Too much “we”, too little “I” Especially leaders &
women Too little action No message
----- don’t -----sugarcoat------ the ------bad stuff
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What I’m looking for
If you’ll admit to bad stuff If you’ve really failed How you respond to bad things
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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?
gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 29
z
Gayle Laakmann McDowell
What I’m
LookingFor
Communication User empathy Creativity Judgment
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How to Tackle
1. Define the user Ask questions Are there multiple users?
2. Discuss use cases, problems & goals
3. Design4. Wrap-up
Gayle Laakmann McDowell 31gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
And don’t forget…
theUSER
theWHITEBOARD
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Make sure you know
Favorite WEBSITE Favorite MOBILE APP Favorite PHYSICAL PRODUCT Favorite COMPANY PRODUCT
Gayle Laakmann McDowell 33gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
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?
gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 37
z
Gayle Laakmann McDowell
WhyWeAsk
Smarts Ballparking Matters Comfort with
numbers
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 38
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?
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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?
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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
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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 …
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 43
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?
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 46
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
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 47
Generic Structure
1. Understand/define problem2. Structure3. Solve
Use instincts Make reasonable assumptions
DRIVE the DISCUSSION
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 48
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
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 49
Useful Metrics & Knowledge
User Acquisition #, growth, active users, etc
Activity What are people doing?
Money Customer acquisition costs Revenue $ growth
TakeawaysIf you forget everything else…05
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 51
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!
gayle in/gaylemcdgayleGayle Laakmann McDowell 53
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