Rubric for Product Strategy Interviews

Note: For more detail on how Exponent's interview rubrics work, check out this lesson.

Now that you know how to answer product strategy questions, let's look at how they're scored.

Core Skills to Show in Product Strategy Interviews

Product Strategy questions generally assess product skills, critical thinking and culture fit. Companies often use a scoring system with five options ranging from "missing" or "very weak" to "very strong." Interviewers score core qualities on this five-point scale during each round, and take turns sharing their feedback during the hiring discussion.

Product skills include competitive analysis, market analysis, business strategy, and roadmapping.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to ask clarifying questions and the ability to discuss tradeoffs and potential errors.

Culture fit signals include passion and creativity, communication, and collaboration.

Let's dive into each.

Competitive Analysis

You're never working in a vacuum. Strategic thinking requires orienting yourself within a competitive landscape; you'll miss major points if you don't mention key competitors, trends, and orient your strategy accordingly.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to consider the competition.
• Weak: Poor understanding of the competitive landscape.
• Neutral: Fair understanding of key competitors and trends.
• Strong: Extensive competitive insight into the relevant players and their positioning.
• Very Strong: Deep attention to the competitive landscape; discussed possibilities, competitive strategies, and opportunities logically and creatively.

Market Analysis

A proper market analysis includes the competition but includes greater market forces too. Do you have an understanding of how consumer trends have changed over time? How about forces impacting critical supply chains? If you need a review, be sure to read up on some common frameworks for thinking through market analysis in this lesson.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to consider the market.
• Weak: Poor understanding of the market.
• Neutral: Fair understanding of key market forces, participants, and their interests.
• Strong: Significant knowledge of relevant market dynamics.
• Very Strong: Deep insight into the market; discussed opportunities logically and creatively.

Business Strategy

You've considered the macro context; time to dive into your strategy as a player in the market. Interviewers are looking for you to accurately summarize the company's positioning and strategy, and align your product strategy accordingly.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to consider business goals and basic strategy.
• Weak: Strategy unclear or full of errors.
• Neutral: Basic business sense, articulated a reasonable strategy with some guidance.
• Strong: Delivered a logical strategy that fit the greater business context.
• Very Strong: Strong strategic thinking and nuanced understanding of business landscape; compelling arguments.

Roadmapping

Strategy in-hand, it's time to build a roadmap to help you execute. Roadmapping is a key PM skill that allows you to plan, track, and articulate your vision to others. Interviewers are interested in how you do this, as it's a huge part of your job, so don't skip it.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to articulate a product roadmap.
• Weak: Roadmap unclear or full of errors.
• Neutral: Built a fair product roadmap with some guidance.
• Strong: Roadmap fit business, market / competitive landscape, assumptions realistic, alternatives given.
• Very Strong: Roadmap is clear, compelling, reasonable, and adaptive to changing circumstances.

Clarifying Questions

Similar to product design, product strategy questions are problem-solving exercises. In this case, the problem is more clear - how will you grow? But sustainable growth is much harder to attain without the full context, which is why you need to ask good questions before you begin strategizing.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to ask questions and/or interact with the interviewer.
• Weak: Struggled to ask the right questions and/or made assumptions without clarifying.
• Neutral: Asked good questions but missed key points.
• Strong: Asked insightful questions, adapted strategy to fit.
• Very Strong: Scoped problem effectively, delivered high-quality, creative strategy.

Ability to Discuss Tradeoffs and Possible Errors

Considering tradeoffs and possible errors (or risks) is key to building a good strategy. Interviewers want to see you think through the pros, cons, and alternatives of all major decisions -- and identify any missing information you'd need to prove your strategy.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to mention tradeoffs and possible errors.
• Weak: Mentioned tradeoffs, but failed to justify decisions when pressed and/or made incorrect judgment calls.
• Neutral: Covered possible errors and tradeoffs, but could have made better choices.
• Strong: Logical tradeoff discussion, correctly identified possible errors.
• Very Strong: Deep knowledge and intuition around tradeoffs; alternatives offered, pros and cons neatly summarized.

Passion and Creativity

Product questions are some of your best opportunities to show your culture fit. How? Get excited about the product! Interviewers want to see your passion for their company, and how you'll use that passion to fuel your creativity.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to show enthusiasm or creative thinking.
• Weak: Solutions were bland, and/or candidate didn't show interest in the problem.
• Neutral: Displayed interest and reasonable insight, but nothing exceptional.
• Strong: Extensive knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity on display throughout the interview.
• Very Strong: Gave inspired answers; showed clear passion.

Communication

Communication is assessed in every interview.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to communicate clearly despite repeated prompts.
• Weak: Poor communication throughout; interviewee had trouble following despite prompts.
• Neutral: Communication varied. Clear in some areas but vague / incomplete in others.
• Strong: Good communication skills; articulated thought process clearly and consistently.
• Very Strong: Clear, proactive communication; anticipated questions, articulated reasons for decision, "checked-in" throughout.

Collaboration

Product strategy interviews are a great opportunity to collaborate as your interviewer has the context that you need. Some interviews even turn into a collaborative problem-solving exercise; be sure to lead, ask good questions, check assumptions, and check-in, and you can't go wrong.

• Very Weak or Missing: Failed to take the lead, didn't respond to guidance.
• Weak: Struggled to stay on track without guidance.
• Neutral: Took the lead and performed well, but may have needed redirects or hints.
• Strong: Effectively led the discussion, involved the interviewer throughout.
• Very Strong: Took the lead and made exceptional use of the interviewer, discussion was more collaboration than interview.