Cracking the PM Interview: Key Themes and Insights

This briefing document reviews the main themes and essential ideas presented in excerpts from "Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job," by Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro.

Core Themes:

1. Product Management Skills: The book emphasizes that while technical skills are valuable, product managers are primarily judged by their ability to think critically, solve problems, and launch successful products. This involves:

• Customer-centricity: Understanding customer needs and building products that address them effectively.
• "When I’m interviewing, the thing I check for, no matter what, is passion. Do you care enough about your work that you’re spending your free time learning about it?"
• Problem-solving mindset: Viewing everyday situations as opportunities for improvement and innovation.
• "If you’re interviewing to be a PM, it’s good to look at every problem starting with “Who is the customer?” and “What is success?”"
• Passion and initiative: Demonstrating a genuine enthusiasm for the industry and a willingness to learn and grow.
• "At the time, there weren’t any product managers. The way I got that job was interesting... I was really excited about my job and had a whole philosophy about how teams should be set up and run." (Thomas Arend, Airbnb)

1. Landing the Job: The authors offer practical advice on how to stand out in the competitive PM job market, including:

• Tailoring your resume: Focusing on impactful accomplishments and quantifying your achievements.
• "As much as possible, quantify your accomplishments. How much money did you make for your company? How much time did you save your team? By how much did you improve customer retention?"
• Crafting your narrative: Using storytelling to highlight your skills and experiences and connect with the interviewer.
• "You could even approach it from the other direction. What do you want to show about yourself, and how can you communicate that through examples?"
• Demonstrating industry knowledge: Highlighting your understanding of the company's product and the market landscape.
• "If you’re looking to land an early PM job at a startup, making a strong impression with your vision for the future of their industry can help you."

1. Interview Preparation: The book provides detailed guidance on how to tackle common PM interview questions, particularly estimation and product design questions:

• Estimation questions: Breaking down complex problems into manageable parts, making reasonable assumptions, and clearly communicating your thought process.
• "The more organized you can be, the better. If your estimation question has several independent steps, you should try to compute them separately."
• Product design questions: Employing frameworks to analyse user needs, define product features, and articulate launch strategies.
• "Don’t worry about memorizing these frameworks; you won’t be expected to know them. Just read them over to get a sense for the types of structure that can be used to answer a question."
• Coding questions: While not always required, the book advises PM candidates to be prepared for basic coding and algorithm questions.
• "Many companies, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, sometimes ask their PM candidates coding and algorithm questions."

Key Insights:

• Impact over Responsibility: Focus on highlighting the positive impact you have had in your previous roles rather than simply listing your responsibilities.
• Quantify Your Achievements: Wherever possible, use numbers and data to demonstrate the scale and impact of your work.
• Storytelling is Key: Use stories to illustrate your skills and experiences in a way that is engaging and memorable.
• Structure Your Thinking: Utilize frameworks and logical reasoning to break down complex problems and communicate your approach effectively.
• Practice Makes Perfect: Prepare for estimation, product design, and potentially coding questions by practicing with sample problems and working through the solution approaches.

Overall, "Cracking the PM Interview" offers valuable insights and practical advice for aspiring product managers. By focusing on customer-centricity, problem-solving, and clear communication, candidates can increase their chances of landing their dream PM role.

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