Should I give up trying to join Google/Facebook?

Chewy
scaredpm

Go to company page Chewy

scaredpm
Aug 11, 2021 211 Comments

I am currently a Principal Product Manager at chewy. Before that, I spent about 5-6 years at Amazon.

I’ve been trying to get into google/Facebook for 3 years now and this is how it is going: (for Product roles):

Google : all 3 years lost out in first case study round

Facebook:
2019: lost out in first round
2020: cleared all rounds but lost out in committee decision after final round
2021: just had my first round today and don’t think I will get through.

I have spent a lotttttt of time solving the case studies from pmexercises and exponent and candor and other places.. I’ve also spent a lot of time doing mock interviews and the feedback has been positive.

I’m really not able to understand why I keep missing out in these companies. The lack of feedback is seriously impacting ability to make improvements.

Now, I know that some of you will say that there are other companies and that I shouldn’t worry… and I’ve been successful at getting a lot of calls, but either I lose out in final round or the pay is less…

I’m just trying to see why there is this roadblock with these two companies.

I’m really trying to see if there are others here who are going through this or have some advice.

YoE: 7 years
Tc: ~250k

#product #productmanager #pm

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 211 Comments
  • Google / Eng
    alphabett

    Go to company page Google Eng

    alphabett
    It’s honestly just a lot of luck too. I doubt I can pass another Google interview
    Aug 11, 2021 15
    • Google
      xoogler19

      Go to company page Google

      xoogler19
      Yep exactly I was out of G for 1,5 years, had to do 4 interviews, came back at L+1 (but was already at the previous level for a few years before leaving G so it was only fair). If you're out for more than 1 year you have to interview again but you go through supposedly a streamlined rehire process.
      Aug 12, 2021
    • Amazon
      yarmatey

      Go to company page Amazon

      yarmatey
      How is Google interviewing for non tech? I suppose ad sales would be there is for that?
      Aug 12, 2021
  • I think branding is a big factor in becoming a PM at FB and G nowadays since everyone and their grandma wants to become a PM.

    You’ve got to have something that sells. Whether it’s a flashy MBA from Ivy, a director PM position from a startup, or PM experience from FAANGMULA

    You may be a kickass PM but I seriously think that’s just a pre-req. Your brand takes the lead after that. And of course there’s also luck (maybe someone would be willing to give you a chance and hire you).
    Aug 11, 2021 14
  • Apple
    atomic_ice

    Go to company page Apple

    PRE
    Amazon
    atomic_ice
    I’d say yes. But not for the reasons you think.

    Imho any company hiring via generalist roles isn’t worth interviewing after you’ve had 7-10 yoe. By this time, you know the type of people/team you want to work with and generalist hiring process where you don’t meet the people you’ll be working with is a dealbreaker for me personally. Having worked in shitty teams before, I will never gamble on that front

    Before you bark at me regarding the team matching process, it is shitty I need to clear the hiring bar only to potentially meet a small chunk of the team when deciding the team vs meeting most of the team/peers are other places.
    Aug 11, 2021 2
    • Chewy
      scaredpm

      Go to company page Chewy

      scaredpm
      OP
      Such a fresh perspective..: thank you @atomic_ice
      Aug 11, 2021
    • New / Product
      nopro

      New Product

      PRE
      Cisco
      nopro
      This is a great advice! I interviewed at Google earlier this year and while I wasn't amazing in solving case problems - it was frustrating to see the guy interviewing stopped paying attention halfway through....so yeah there's that!

      Worth looking beyond a particular brand or name and ask yourself what values and skills do you bring, where do they fit best and what kind of culture + people will support you, enjoy working with you in achieving results you can be proud of 🙌
      Aug 11, 2021
  • There's lots of other companies to work at and some pay even better than G/FB. I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it.
    Aug 11, 2021 12
  • GrubHub
    _🐶_🐷_🍞_

    Go to company page GrubHub

    _🐶_🐷_🍞_
    Buddy and I have been swapping notes, and I have concluded these sense / execution interviews are super interviewer dependent. Did a subpar sense and a stellar execution and got all good feedback on the sense and a ding on the execution. This is after a shit ton of prep and mock interviews. Last year I basically showed up and made it to on-site. This year I put in the work and didn’t even clear the first round.

    There are a lot of excellent companies building awesome shit right now. And, there are PMs at G/F who are miserable. Keep on looking, my friend. Failing the interview may be the best thing that happened to you because your headspace and time is now free to chase other opportunities.
    Aug 11, 2021 2
    • Chewy
      scaredpm

      Go to company page Chewy

      scaredpm
      OP
      Thank you so much. I love the positivity in this message.. you are right… so much depends on luck… and it’s time to focus energies on other possibly better companies
      Aug 11, 2021
    • SAP
      pointedque

      Go to company page SAP

      pointedque
      This is only a theory as I am about to interview at Google for first time, but are you keeping some level of individualism in your responses? I've watched a lot of the Exponent videos on YouTube and my god, some of them are robotic (ok, you want me to blah blah blah... I'm just going to a take a couple of minutes to collect my thoughts... ok, I have a couple of clarifying questions... zzzzzzzzz).
      Sep 13, 2021