PM interviews - how to overcome bad performance

Amazon
nashedi

Go to company page Amazon

nashedi
Jun 10, 2021 32 Comments

I had two PM interviews with HMs in the last week and both couldn’t have been worse. Not hoping for them to even send me a courtesy email saying no. I feel like an idiot.

Both were product sense questions and I followed the circles method to the point but the final solution was far from satisfactory. My inability to think on my feet was on real display, especially when it comes to user segmentation and listing solutions. Add to that, I buckle under interview pressure.

Have done 6 mocks so far. But not seen any improvement. All suggestions welcome!

Tc - 240 k. Yoe - 8 in total. 3 as PM

#product

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  • EY / Product
    productor

    Go to company page EY Product

     productor
    I was in your shoes until I failed three PM interviews in a row and landed an offer at FB this week. I did tons of mock interviews and studied how to make and construct my own framework. Which is way better than circles. You do you, man!
    Jun 10, 2021 3
    • Amazon
      nashedi

      Go to company page Amazon

      nashedi
      OP
      Congratulations! Would love to know how you approached the prep..how many hours did you spend, # of mocks and any reference material..
      Jun 10, 2021
    • EY / Product
      productor

      Go to company page EY Product

       productor
      Not common, I think there’s only one other EY consultant to do it. I’m in our product strategy consulting practice though so it is relevant experience.

      I studied the FB advertising training material around how to segment users and pick metrics. I also watched YouTube videos from prep services with mock interviews but never paid a dime. Then I made my own framework that could apply to any question and hit every point in the official FB PM interview guide. Then I did like 40 mocks with a free online service.
      Jun 11, 2021
  • You need at least 25-40 mocks to really prep for FAANG. Where exactly are you interviewing?

    You also need to seriously prep and do your homework before jumping in.

    Furthermore some product orgs value different traits and exp. research that and prep. Organize your bg and have at least 2-3 back up /alt answers.

    And circles sux.
    Jun 10, 2021 5
  • Yahoo
    yOjl47

    Go to company page Yahoo

    yOjl47
    How did you get into Amazon? Where did you interview?
    Jun 10, 2021 9
    • OnDeck
      How2Be

      Go to company page OnDeck

      How2Be
      TC wasn’t good enough for me. Plus I’m not a fan of Amazon’s culture. They have good teams though so depends on what you get
      Jun 10, 2021
    • Amazon
      nashedi

      Go to company page Amazon

      nashedi
      OP
      Interviews != job. But I agree with on deck the interviews were a breeze. But the communication part still matters. I wouldn’t recommend Amazon to people.
      Jun 10, 2021
  • Intuit
    b9n9n9

    Go to company page Intuit

    b9n9n9
    i’ve been there too. practice helps and also really thinking deeply about product sense questions all the time so it feels familiar and makes sense to you. not just following a method step by step which feels like you at a student. I also ask myself outside of any rules what would I actually do? what’s common sense for a real Pm working in the real world? that makes your answers more authentic.
    Jun 10, 2021 1
  • Also what’s your YOE. knowing helps provide better answers here.
    Jun 10, 2021 3