Preparing for a PM interview
My favorite resources for getting ready for product interviews
š Hey, Iām Lenny and welcome to aĀ š subscriber-only edition šĀ of my weekly newsletter. Each week I tackle reader questions about product, growth, working with humans, and anything else thatās stressing you out about work.Ā Send me your questionsĀ and in return Iāll humbly offer actionable real-talk advice. Now, on to this week's postā¦
Q: Iām interviewing for a PM role. What should I do to prepare?
Iāve interviewed hundreds of PMs over the years. As an interviewer, you want to believe that no matter how long the candidate has spent preparing, you can see through it all to their true PM nature. But thatās just not true. Preparing gives you a big leg up, even if you spend just a few hours. A little prep helps you nail common questions, build frameworks for confronting unexpected questions, and gets your mind into the interviewing game (which is very different from doing the job itself).
Broadly, there are three parts to the preparation process:
Research
Practice
Study
Below Iāll share a bunch of advice, and point you to my favorite resources, to help you through your preparation process.
If thereās anything else youāve found helpful in your own interview prep process, Iād love to hear it š
Disclaimer: This guide will help you prepare for an interview, but it wonāt help you do the actual job. Be careful about becoming so good at interviewing that you get into a role you arenāt ready for and end up having a bad time.
1. Research
Start by doing your homework on the product, the company, and its interview process.
Use the product. Form an opinion about what could be improved, what youād prioritize if you were in charge, and where the product might go in the future.
Research the company. Whatās its mission and vision? What has it launched recently? Who does it compete with? Where do you think itās going next? Try to find someone at the company to get insight from.
Review common interview questions. Skim questions on Glassdoor, Exponent, and PMExercises. Identify the typical question structure, and the skill sets the company seems to care most about, e.g.:
Product design/sense
Execution
Strategy
Leadership/behavioral
Analytical skills
Technical skills
2. Practice
Nothing will better help you prepare for an interview than actually doing interviews. Instead of reading about interviewing, start practicing with real people. I put this section above āStudyā because too many people spend their time studying and not doing.
Find PMs who can do mock interviews with you. If you canāt find enough willing friends, check out peer groups from Exponent, PMExercises, IGotAnOffer, and Lewis C. Linās Interview Community.