I have a Google APM internship interview coming up in 2 weeks. Any advices on what to expect or what to prep for?
Aren't there only like 40 openings? Why would anyone even apply
Cuz they NeedJobs
Yeah me too. That's why I apply for positions that have realistic prospects
Hey there - I'm a hiring manager and I've been interviewing APMs for the past few years. Of the top of my head, here are the three things most APM candidates screw up in interviews. Note that I'm not part of the hiring committee, so these are just my personal pet peeves and may not represent what the committee is looking for - 1. Lack of depth in product insights: Most candidates can't dissect a product and provide any thoughts on what makes a product good or bad, what makes a design good or bad etc. When an interviewer asks you to pick your favorite Google product and improve it, don't just name the last random bug you encountered in a product and tell them to fix it, but think big picture, think about the market the product operates and then figure out how to move the products metrics by 10x. 2. No understanding of the market or competitors. This one is a stretch for undergrads since they have never been in the industry before, but try to do some competitive assessment of the products you're discussing and talk about what the threats and opportunities are. E.g if you said Spotify is your favorite product, don't say that it's great because it streams music (RealPlayer did that in the 90s), but talk about what makes it better than YouTube Music or Pandora and why Apple Music is a threat to it. 3. Lack of structured thinking: You're a CS grad, you have taken engineering courses, so use those analytical skills to break a problem down and analyze what the root cause is and how you would solve it. Don't just blurt out the first solution that comes to your mind, but take a few minutes to think through the underlying problems - whether they are technical, economics, demographics or whatever and suggest solutions. Not a single solution, but multiple solutions and then provide a framework to rank them and pick one.
Know thy Google products.
Even the niche ones and the tech landscape. Bonus points to stand out if you can dissect and analyze the interviewer’s team and give insights.
Ok, the only thing is that I do not know who my interviewer is or his/her team. I will see if I can get that info from my recruiter. Thanks!