I have a PM interview with fb in the next week. While the recruiter gave me high level details on what to expect, I am looking for suggestions and personal experiences. Thanks
Look through ALL the materials the recruiter shares and practice. Come up with a rough framework to leverage during the product sense and execution interviews but don’t follow it dogmatically if certain parts don’t apply. Don’t be afraid to ask your interviewers to clarify scope or focus to guide your responses. You should be driving but you can validate that you’re on the same planet as the interviewer by pulling up at any given point. Time is short so be succinct. Once you’ve made a point move on. If you know you want to cover up through a certain part of the framework then budget time appropriately. If you run out of time towards the end you can let the interviewer know, “If we had more time I would have loved to have covered XYZ” where it shows you’re considering additional aspects. Showcase prioritization and how you rationalize those decisions with data and research. Summarize your thoughts often and refer back to your original goals as you move from section to section within your framework so there’s continuity and a good flow. Don’t be nervous if the interviewer pushes back on a thought, or drills in super deep, or keeps challenging you with additional scenarios or questions. It’s normal... they just want to see how you think about these things. It’s less important to come up with an innovative solution, though creativity doesn’t hurt. That’s not the point of the interview. Instead the interviewer really wants to understand your process and approach to solving problems. There’s lots of additional tactical guidance you’ll find online (eg focus on users, segment well, process for talking through user journeys etc). So I didn’t cover those here. Source: recently hired as IC6 PM, TC:$465K
Can you summarize similar for XFN and Leadership round? I thought I did well in those round but didn’t get in because of low performance in those round. I do not know how to make stories strong.
For the behavioral round I prepared 8-10 real anecdotes that spanned the various categories that the recruiting packet described. For each I prepped a quick summary of the scenario, demonstration of leadership/drive impact, and key takeaways/learnings (eg what would I do the same, what would I do differently). It’s important to show introspection and self awareness when discussing the anecdotes. Rehearse but don’t be robotic. If you can quantify impact that’s great. If there’s only qualitative impact then lean into self awareness.
Read the PM interview prep guide at https://engineerseekingfire.com/how-to-prepare-for-product-manager-interviews/
hi balanag
Thanks for the very useful information on this post. As someone with a technical background, I had a few questions about FB PM interview. - For execution interview, I understand that it's typically about a Facebook product. Is that correct, and if so, is it worth taking 2-4 minutes to define the product at the start to make sure you are on the same page as the interviewer? - For product sense/execution, is it best to talk for 8-10 minutes defining the answer, or should you pause? If so, when? - What can I expect in the XFN interview? Thanks much!
1) Not necessarily. If it is, 30 seconds making sure you understand what the product does is sufficient. 2) I don’t understand that question. What does ‘defining the answer’ mean? 3) What do you mean by ‘XFN interview’? Leadership & Drive?
Thanks. 1) You mean FB does not necessarily ask about an FB product? 2) "Defining the answer" -- should I expect to talk for 10-12 minutes with a fleshed-out design and/or metrics, or talk for 3-4 minutes and wait for interviewer to respond? 3) XFN is called "Cross Functional Interview". It is after the Leadership & Drive interview. Thanks again for your help
Just starting my PM interview prep for FB, looks like there is no technical/system design round? Am I mistaken and it is asked(digging into more solution details) in one of the other rounds(Product Design, Estimation, Leadership)?
No technical/system design round. TBH unless you’re an ML or maybe AI pm you won’t need to really look at or write code
Thanks. For the ml PMs they are expected to write code?
Hi, In general how long does one need to prep for the Prod Sense & Execution Phone interviews. Also, how are the onsite & phone interviews formats different during COVID/wfh?
Their product interview is very institutional and not creative at all. That is the exact reason why they can not build TikTok-like products successfully. They are hiring a business-like person instead of a real product guy. The same reason that they acquired Instagram. They just can not build a good product by themselves anymore.
*They hire business school people or software engineers. So they get out of touch sanitized bland products.
Great answers to the questions in this post. Is PM experience required to apply for a PM role at FB? If not, what’s the best approach to get an interview?
NetApp, I have the same question. Do you mind sharing what you found out?
Unless you apply for rotational PM, experience is required (E4 and up)
@op how did your interview go
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Practice out loud. It’s awkward and you’ll feel stupid, but it works