A 35-minute guide to PM interviews

Getting ready for an upcoming product manager interview and want to know which questions to prep for?

Below, we share the most commonly asked product manager interview questions and how to answer them. We'll dive deep into sample answers and the best ways to prepare for your upcoming interviews—all in a time crunch

We wrote this PM interview guide with the help of 22 PM and APM hiring managers and coaches from Google, Meta, Amazon, Stripe, TikTok, Snapchat, Razorpay, Paypal, and Apple.

Before You Apply

Landing a product job requires more than just applying! 

Spend time understanding the companies you want to work for, practice top questions alone and with peers, and build a story bank for your big day.

1. Create an excellent PM resume: Companies like Google receive over three million applications yearly. 80-90% of candidates never pass the resume screen. Ask friends, mentors, or our tech resume coaches to review your resume. Use our PM resume template if you need help getting started.
2. Prepare for interviews: The product management interview process will test your product sense, product design, product strategy, analytical and estimation skills, and behavioral fit with the company. Review the most frequently asked questions and answers (below). 
3. Review the company: Each company has a unique mission, products, and approach to PM interviews. Spend time understanding how they envision their place in the world. How could you help them achieve that vision? 
4. Practice: Even the most knowledgeable candidates can feel nervous during the interview. You can practice with Exponent's free peer-to-peer PM mock interview portal. Every day, PM candidates role-play in 1:1 mock interviews and give feedback.
5. Interview: All the preparation and hard work you've done has led up to this moment! It's time to turn on your camera and nail those PM interviews!

54 Top Product Manager Interview Questions

To create this list, we analyzed over 1,700 recently asked product manager interview questions reported by real candidates.

In PM interviews, expect a mix of these types of questions:

• Product Design (35%)
• Behavioral (20%)
• Product Strategy (15%)
• Analytical (10%)
• Estimation (5%)
• Technical (5%)
• Craft & Execution (Google Only)

Product Design Questions

1. What's your favorite product and why? Watch a Google PM answer.
2. How would you improve our product?
3. Design a product for drivers during rush hour. Watch a Google PM answer. 
4. How would you improve Instagram Stories? Watch a Microsoft PM answer.
5. How would you improve Spotify as a podcast application?
6. How would you improve Walmart's e-commerce platform?
7. Design a refrigerator for a busy office.
8. How would you improve Google Flights?
9. Design a meditation app.
10. Design a gardening product for Facebook.

Product design is one-third of the PM interview process, making it a key opportunity to showcase your product thinking skills like:

• User empathy and user-centered design
• Feature prioritization
• Product modification for success in new markets or use cases

To answer, walk the interviewer through your design process.

• How do you pinpoint user pain points?
• How do you pinpoint effective solutions?
• How do you prioritize features?
• What metrics do you use to measure success, and how do you iterate based on feedback?

For moonshot questions, try to abstract the problem and find a simple solution for the user.

Behavioral Questions

1. Tell me about a time you handled a difficult stakeholder. View answers.
2. Tell me about a time you made a mistake. View answers.
3. Tell me about a time one of your products failed.
4. Tell me about your proudest accomplishment.
5. Why do you want to work here?
6. What makes you a good teammate?
7. Tell me about a time you had a disagreement with a coworker? How did you solve the problem?
8. How would you handle negative user feedback for your product?
9. What tech trends will change in the next decade?
10. Why do you want to work as a product manager?

Behavioral questions make up about 20% of PM interviews. They may appear in multiple interview rounds.

In addition to core product management skills, you should be prepared to answer questions about who you are and how you work with teams.

To prepare for behavioral PM questions, create a story bank of experiences you can adapt to various questions.

This aids confidence and prevents rambling.

Understand the company's values.

Tech company cultures are grounded in values.

For instance, Google's values include building belonging and advancing sustainability.

As you build your story bank, consider how your decisions align with different company values.

If the company doesn't have a page on its website with its values, check its annual reports, social media, online reviews, and blog for insights

Create a story bank.

Choose 5-10 impactful experiences from your work.

They should be recent, detailed, diverse, and exciting.

When you answer behavioral questions, talk about how your peers, like other product managers, learned and worked alongside you.

Emphasize who the decision makers were in the project. Was it you? Was it a product owner?

Mention your cross-functional partners like engineers and designers. How did you communicate with them and make the project successful?

Product Strategy Questions

1. Should Google go into the ridesharing market?
2. Should Samsung build a video game console? Watch Microsoft PM answer.
3. How would you increase the number of users on YouTube?
4. How would you react to a competing product to Gmail?
5. How would you increase the adoption of Microsoft Edge?
6. How would you monetize Facebook Dating?
7. What would you prioritize for the upcoming quarter for WeChat?
8. What product would you prioritize building next for Google Cloud?
9. What's the biggest threat to YouTube?

Strategy interviews typically range from 40 minutes to an hour.

Most of a PM's job involves making strategic product decisions in a constantly evolving landscape.

The best PMs at tech companies know their company's market position and long-term goals. You should know how to conduct competitive and market analyses and create a product roadmap.

As experts in their product's unique opportunities and threats in the marketplace, it is up to the product manager to define and execute the product strategy.

A good answer builds up to a strategy you can summarize in a few sentences. It includes understanding the landscape and synthesizing your exploration into new insights.

Save a few minutes at the end to discuss:

• Things you would change given more information,
• Risk mitigation strategies,
• Your long-term vision.

Doing all that in 40 minutes may be intimidating, but interviewers care more about your process than your final answer.

Metrics Questions

1. Tell me about when you used data to diagnose and solve a problem.
2. What metrics would you focus on as the PM for Netflix?
3. What metrics would you focus on as the PM for Spotify?
4. What metrics would you focus on as the PM for Alibaba?
5. How would you measure the success of Lyft?
6. How would you measure the success of Medium?
7. How would you measure the success of Substack?
8. Define a meaningful social interaction metric for Facebook.
9. Devise an A/B test to improve Google Maps.
10. What should Airbnb's north star metric be?

An analytical PM interview typically includes two metrics questions, each lasting about 20-25 minutes.

Can you reason with metrics? Can you think critically about user feedback and bugs?

These questions ask you to identify metrics for a feature, product, or company.

You might be asked to define a single north star metric, a set of KPIs, or how to measure success after a product launch.

These questions test your product management analytical skills, such as

• breaking down problems,
• setting goals,
• thinking about data,
• and using logical reasoning.

For these questions, have a clear structure and solid justifications for your decisions. Your answers may include bits of competitive analysis or personal anecdotes, too.

Estimation Questions

1. Estimate the number of Uber drivers in San Francisco. Watch a Google PM answer.
2. How many shampoo bottles are sold in the US annually?
3. Estimate the number of videos watched on YouTube per day.
4. Estimate the total dollar amount of online sales for fruits and vegetables per year in New York City.
5. How many quarters do you need to reach the height of the Empire State Building?
6. Estimate Google Photos storage for Pixel phones.
7. Estimate the total Internet bandwidth needed for a campus of 1000 graduate students.

While companies like Google are well-known for their estimation questions, they are asked less often in tech interviews.

The reason? They aren't always the best way to evaluate product managers and their leadership abilities. They don't do much to accurately depict the day-to-day work of a product management team.

Nonetheless, you should be prepared to answer them during your product manager interviews, just in case. They're a good proxy for your communication skills as you navigate nebulous problems.

Execution Questions

1. Fake news is increasing on social media. How would you reduce its proliferation?
2. YouTube comments are up, but watch time is down. What do you do?
3. Friend requests are down 10% on Facebook. What would you do?
4. As a PM for Instagram Stories, what metrics would you consider when deciding to increase the expiration time of Stories?
5. If you were the PM of eBay, what goals would you set?
6. DAUs have gone down on our application. How would you find the root cause?
7. Should Uber Eats be a different app from regular Uber?
8. What metrics would you set for Instagram Lite?

Execution questions test your ability to make sense of a situation, set goals, and make decisions.

Companies like Meta and Google differ in their interview approach.

Meta asks execution questions focusing on root cause analysis and decision-making, such as evaluating metrics for Instagram Stories.

Google, however, assesses execution skills through broader hypothetical questions during Cross-Functional Collaboration rounds, with questions like "When do you consider a design review completed?".

Technical Questions

Technical questions are not common in PM interviews unless the position is explicitly technical — such as the role of Technical Product Manager at Amazon.

Regardless, having a technical background can help you better understand the feasibility of new product ideas or the strategic implications of new technology.

Your recruiter should let you know if you will face a technical round, but if you’re unsure, ask.

If you do know you’ll be asked technical questions, there are three common types to be aware of:

• System Design: “Design the architecture for Instagram’s Home Feed”
• Communicating Technical Concepts: “Explain DNS to a 12-year-old.”
• Explaining Technical Decisions: “Tell me about a previous project where your team had to choose between two technologies with trade-offs. Why did you choose what you did?”

Next, let's walk through answers to some of the most common product manager questions.

Q1: Favorite Product

"What's your favorite product?" is a standard product design interview question.

You should prepare to answer it in every PM interview you have. Your interviewer will likely press you for clarity on your favorite product.

A fundamental tenet of product management is determining why a product is popular with certain users and what that means for the company's product vision.

In this example, the APM candidate's favorite product is Marco Polo.

Marco Polo is a mobile app that allows users to send private videos to friends and stay connected.

First, the candidate distinguishes Marco Polo from other social media platforms—it offers one-on-one interactions, authenticity, and convenience.

These unique features make it a great product.

The potential customer segments for this app include college students, young adults, working professionals, and parents.

Due to COVID-19, many of these groups are experiencing Zoom and video fatigue and have limited budgets.

To increase engagement in the app, the candidate suggests integrating Gottman cards. These conversation-building cards are typically used by couples and groups to inspire conversation.

In the app, these cards could be tailored to users' interests to help facilitate meaningful conversations.

This feature addresses video-call fatigue by making conversations less awkward. It wouldn't cost users anything. Personalized cards address multiple user segments.

Personalizing these cards to a user's interests can also overcome criticisms of forced or unnatural interactions only designed to boost usage.

More Answers

Interview Tips

• Don't be afraid of popular products. Popular products, like Google Chrome, are popular for a reason. If something popular is genuinely your favorite, don't shy away. Come up with a new, compelling reason why it's your favorite product.
• Talk about improvements. How would you make this product better if you were the product manager? This shows empathy for the user experience and not settling for the way things are.
• Mention differentiation. This product is your favorite, but what about its competitors? How does it stack up to other similar products in the space?
• Find something you're genuinely passionate about to use in your answer. Your interviewer wants to see you light up when you discuss this product, not an answer you rehearsed.
• Have an arguable thesis about your favorite product. Why is your opinion about this product different or unique? This helps you focus on more specific answers about popular products we all use.
• Inject your personality. This is your time to show what excites you about product management and well-made products. You can bring this passion and excitement to your new job.

Q2: Improve Instagram Stories

In this example, a Meta PM answers the question, "How would you improve Instagram stories?"

First, the candidate identifies the pain points of Instagram's primary target audience, Gen Z.

Their main pain point is difficulty connecting with close friends, which has led to lower usage and stickiness. Ultimately, this indicates potential lost revenue for Meta.

Some ideas to address these pain points are personalized content, better integration with other social apps, and an improved mobile experience.

One potential solution is a new feature that allows users to collaborate or create Instagram Stories during special events like holidays or birthdays.

Collaborative Instagram Stories could lead to more creation, viewing, and sharing. These are all valuable metrics for increasing app engagement and stickiness.

Some KPIs and metrics to focus on include:

• Behavior among user segments
• The number of users viewing stories
• Overall engagement (comments, reactions, and shares)

More Answers

Interview Tips

• Pick a defined user segment: First, identify user segments and their pain points. Then brainstorm ideas and create a product vision that prioritizes features for those users.
• Think outside the box: Stay informed of current events and the competitive landscape. Consider the shock value to avoid putting off users.
• Paint a picture: Describe a user interacting with the product to illustrate your vision. Describe the average day as a user. What are their pain points?
• Always mention tradeoffs: Highlight tradeoffs to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the product.
• KPIs and metrics: Talk about key performance indicators (KPIs) and what success looks like.

Q3: Short-term Sacrifices

"Tell me about a time you had to decide to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gains" is a behavioral question.

Behavioral questions give insight into handling difficult situations and prioritizing tasks as a PM.

Behavioral questions help interviewers answer questions like:

• Are you able to think strategically under pressure?
• What methodology do you use to make decisions?
• How do your decisions affect other team members?

More Answers

Interview Tips

• Detail the process. Set the stage for your interviewer. What position did you hold, what problem were you facing, and what options did you have to fix it.
• Use KPIs. Mention how clear KPIs helped you decide which option to choose. Knowing how to act on data, even in times of uncertainty, is invaluable.
• Deliver multiple solutions. Show your interviewer that you deliberated on multiple outcomes and that options were weighted methodically.
• Understand the complexity and impact of the decision to be made. Then, communicate the situation and decision with the relevant parties in your example.
• Prioritize long-lasting and trusting relationships with clients over short-term revenue gain. Use the STAR framework to structure answers to behavioral interview questions.

Q4: Increase Airbnb Bookings

"How would you increase Airbnb's bookings?" is a product strategy question.

Product strategy questions test your ability to think strategically about a business and its target market.

Sample Answer

Watch a Google PM answer the mock interview question, "How would you increase Airbnb bookings?"

This candidate focused on providing unique and authentic travel experiences on Airbnb, which helps keep Airbnb at the top of users' minds.

They identify problems or pain points only Airbnb can solve with its unique experiences.

Airbnb's guests can generally be segmented into high- and low-intent travelers and further segmented by business and leisure travel.

High-intent leisure travelers are ready to book right now. Discounts, promotions, and stronger CTAs are easy wins for high-intent travelers already on the site.

Next, consider expanding the target market to more high-intent travelers. Airbnb should maintain its core values of authenticity and uniqueness if it expands to new customers.

For low-intent travelers, Airbnb could become more of a research website. It could feature information about different vacations, deliver inspiration for trips, and be top of mind for anyone planning a trip. Then, Airbnb is well-positioned to capture that business when those travelers are ready to book.

Next, the listings page could get a redesign. It could feature stories from hosts more prominently. Social media and user-generated content could appeal to low-intent travelers as they browse listings.

The Wishlist experience could be more exciting and personalized. Wishlisted homes could inspire more immersive exploring in a city or place.

To test all these new ideas, start with small experiments. A newsletter to inactive users could highlight unique experiences on Airbnb.

Data from early tests will reveal which parts of the browsing experience should get prioritized.

Interview Tips

• Paint a picture: Take your interviewer on a journey through your answer. Illustrate the daily pain points of different user segments using this product. For products like Airbnb, that means describing different types of holiday and business travelers. Explain why they need accommodation.
• Invite feedback: In strategy questions, there are no correct answers. Continually ask for feedback from your interviewer to hear their perspective. For a product as universal as Airbnb, your interviewer likely has feedback about which types of users they want to focus on during the limited scope of an interview.
• Focus on the approach: How you answer the question is more important than getting it right. Spend time explaining your thought process.

Junior vs. Senior PM Candidates

What are the differences between junior and senior product managers?

Leadership

Senior PMs are usually in a higher leadership position in a team. They may negotiate compensation and promotions and address internal conflicts.

In your first PM role(s), you’ll conduct market research and competitive analysis, work on product strategy, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.

An experienced product manager may negotiate compensation and promotions and address internal conflicts.

Output

Junior PMs tend to focus on outputs, while Senior PMs focus on outcomes.

Senior PMs are more active in defining the desired outcome of a product or feature. They tend to work hands-on with users to identify areas for improvement.

Experience Level

Seniority comes from accumulated experience, not necessarily in a specific industry.

A senior engineer may already have the skills to become a Senior Technical Product Manager. There is no one-size-fits-all ideal candidate. There are also plenty of examples of non-technical product managers.

There's no formula for how much experience you need to become a Senior PM.

A PM with ten years of experience at a healthcare company may not be the best candidate if the role requires specific SaaS growth experience.

Influencing Outcomes

As a Junior PM, you must guide your team towards a common goal. You’ll likely have to do this without having the authority to give them orders.

You should build personal connections, empathize with your team's problems, and make decisions based on concrete data. When you’re more experienced, these parts of the role will feel like second nature.

As a senior PM, you’ll guide your team based on your findings. You’ll assign data analysts, junior PMs, and engineers to deliver on your clear product vision.

PM Interview Framework

Every great answer in the PM interview will follow the same general format, regardless of the question.

Use a simple framework to keep your ideas organized during PM interviews.

1. Listen: Actively listen and take notes as your interviewer talks.
2. Clarify: Ask questions to better understand the problem.
3. Pause: Stop and think before blurting out an answer.
4. Structure: Tell your interviewer how you'll structure your answers.
5. Explain: Give your answer and explain your reasoning at each step.
6. Check-in: Ask your interviewer if they want to hear more details.
7. Summarize: Reiterate your main points and takeaways.

Step 1: Listen and Take Notes

Listen attentively to the question, take notes, and make eye contact with the interviewer. Ask clarifying questions to understand the details and expectations of the question.

• Actively listen when the interviewer asks questions or outlines the parameters and constraints of the problem.
• Spend some time getting to know your interviewer.

Pivot smoothly if something goes wrong by checking in, shifting your answer, or gracefully skipping over missing information. Summarize your answer in 30 seconds.

Step 2: Ask Clarifying Questions

Always ask your interviewer clarifying questions, even if the question appears simple or straightforward.

This way, you can determine the most important things to focus on.

Some clarifying questions you can ask your interviewer are:

• Is this product targeting a specific set of users or customers?
• Which platforms are our target users using?
• Is this product being released on a global or domestic scale?

If you can't think of anything, you can always ask, "So, you're asking me to...?" Is that correct?"

Step 3: Stop and Think

Take a few moments to collect your thoughts before answering. Slow down and demonstrate that you can listen to directions and process information effectively.

You would be surprised what an extra 10–20 seconds of reflection can do for the quality of your interview answer.

They'd prefer you to take your time to organize your thoughts so that your answer is coherent and easy to follow.

As a PM, you'll need to act quickly.

Step 4: Structure Your Answers

Provide a structure to your answer. Present this structure to your interviewer or hiring manager before diving in.

This is especially true if there's no right or wrong answer to a question.

This is also an excellent chance to sketch this structure on the whiteboard if one is available.

Many PM questions can fit into a simple three-point structure.

For instance, you can begin your answer by saying something like:

“Alright, I’m going to explore three possible products that fit your question and cover the tradeoffs of each. These three products are X, Y, and Z."

Other questions may require a more complex structure. Either way, giving your interviewer a structure beforehand allows them to get a good read on your answer so they can redirect you if necessary.

Step 5: Explain with Confidence

If you have one, use the whiteboard as much as possible. Every good PM has a whiteboard, right?

Lastly, sit up straight and display confidence while answering. Don't forget to make eye contact, too.

Step 6: Check in with Your Interviewer

Given the complexity of PM interview questions, it's not uncommon for interviewees to veer off-track.

That's why it is always a good idea to check in with the interviewer and pivot wherever necessary.

One mistake some new interviewees make is trying to prepare answers ahead of time.

Generally speaking, there are three common scenarios when it comes to necessary pivots:

• The interviewer presents concerned body language. If an interviewer changes posture or makes gestures, it can indicate that you're off track. Check-in with the interviewer by asking if it's okay to move on to the next part: "I’ll now move on to the next portion of my answer. Is that okay?”
• You realize your answer is wrong. Instead of getting nervous, the solution is to smoothly pivot by finding a way to redirect the answer. One way to do this is to say something like, "Let me rephrase that" or "Let me clarify my answer."
• You forget your point. It's okay to ask for more time by saying, "Can I have a moment to think through the rest of my answer?" This shows that you take the interview seriously and want to answer best.

Step 7. Review and Summarize

Provide a brief summary of your answer.

This doesn't need to be in-depth. Give a 30-second overview of your answer.

Structure this brief summary the same way you did your original answer.

Tip: Go Slowly

Pretend that your interviewer is a complete stranger. Break down complex topics into easily digestible pieces.

Don't explain what a smartphone is or why people use apps. But don't be afraid to explain your product philosophy and how you can make a product team great.

While you're answering questions, talk about things like:

• What successful products have you launched as a PM, and the knowledge you gained?
• How do you talk to users and conduct user research?
• How would you implement and plan for new features in a product's roadmap?
• How do you define a successful product launch?
• What metrics do you use to determine if a product is working well?
• How do you work with other PMs on your teams?

Pitfalls to Avoid

Your PM interview is emotional. Your head is probably buzzing with excitement and nervousness.

Think about these common pitfalls:

• Not finding KPIs. The interviewers want to see that you’re ahead of the curve. Identify the KPIs that revolve around the business. If you don’t know how the company measures success, how will you know what's best for the product? While a subscription business focuses on user retention, an e-commerce business might look for repeat purchases.
• Not using the product. Use the company’s product before the interview. Ask your interviewer for a free trial or beta access if it's behind a paywall. You may be asked how the user interface or experience can be improved. If you haven't checked out the product, you'll not only be stumped in the interview but also leave a negative impression on your interviewers.

PM Interview FAQs

These are the most common questions about the product manager interview process.

How do I prepare for a PM interview?

• Step 1: Research the company you're applying to. Learn the PM interview loop for that company. Check out our PM company guides for deeper insights into how companies like Adobe, Intel, Amazon, Stripe, Google, and more structure their interviews.
• Step 2: Choose one type of interview question for that role (product sense, behavioral, analytical, strategy, execution, technical, etc).
• Step 3: Review the most common interview questions. Create stories from your resume to prepare for your interview. Practice using the STAR method to answer each question. The STAR method = Situation (What was the situation?) T = Task (What goal were you working toward?) A = Action (What action did you take?) R = Result (What was the result of your action?).
• Step 4: Compare your answers to the most popular answers to interview questions from people who landed the job.
• Step 5: Move between interview question categories and repeat.

What makes a good PM interview?

Ultimately, your PM interview comes down to three things:

1. Product vision and sense: How well can you envision future products to solve user pain points and needs?
2. Communication: Can you communicate your product ideas and vision to a product team and engineering team to execute?
3. Culture fit: Do you align with the company's vision and the ethos of its workers?

Is product management a technical role?

Depending on the company, your product management role may be technical. Companies like Google encourage a solid technical and coding background to succeed in product management positions.

However, many companies don't require a technical background to lead technical teams.