Job hunting is stressful in itself. However, it becomes unbearably stressful when you are finally invited to the interview, and then you are surprised with an unexpected question. Personally, I’ve got stuck frequently on questions starting with “tell me about the case in your experience when…” Immediately after such a question, a monkey started singing in my head, and I could remember nothing like I’ve got no experience at all. Sounds familiar? In this article, I’ll tell you how I have successfully overcome this situation preparing myself a complete list of cases to talk about. Following my path, you’ll easily end up with your own set of cases and be ready to rock on your next job interview. I’ve analyzed my experience both as an applicant and as an interviewer, a number of articles and discussion threads on the Internet, and came up with a list of questions that covers 80% of interview discussions about your previous experience. If you think them through, it will be really hard to surprise you during the interview. My suggestion is to prepare answers for these questions and be ready to swap them around adjusting to the actual discussion. You can even write the answers down and revise them from time to time. It will be much easier, more effective, and less stressful than answering everything from scratch. 1. Your Background in 3 Minutes Everything starts with a general discussion about your experience. You can think of it as an elevator pitch where the project you are pitching is you. This is one of the most important parts as it creates your initial impression. My list has the following options to consider: Make it brief. Try to fit your speech into 3 minutes so that you have enough time for the interview itself. This is only an ice cracker. Indicate your major accomplishments in each company. You are trying to sell yourself, not just telling your story. Try to leave hooks for the prepared cases in your speech, as it frames the context for the whole discussion. Let further questions flow from it. Indicate reasons for leaving each company in a few words. In this case, you won’t need to discuss it further. Be sure to reflect on your development as a professional. Your experience and accomplishments should be like pieces of a puzzle presenting your best traits in a couple of minutes. Rehearse it a couple of times. You should express confidence and calm. 2. Successes You Are Proud Of Now, let’s dive into cases. Success case is a must-have one, I don’t think I need to explain why. What I suggest to prepare here: Think big and try to find an example of some major accomplishment. The fresher the better, interviewers prefer to discuss recent cases as they are probably more relevant to interviewers’ needs. Explain the reason you’ve selected this exact case. It can showcase what motivates and inspires you. It would be just perfect if your success case reflects at least something from the following list of cases: data interaction, user research, team leadership, stakeholder management, or tough decisions. That’s how you can kill two birds with one stone. 3. Lessons Learned From Failure This one is even more popular than the success case. But remember that you don’t have to put all your dirty clothes out and repent for your sins. Even your failure should showcase your best features, so: Again think big. Try to stay on the positive trek, and look for a case where everything ended OK, but could have been much better. Indicate how you have fixed the situation and what you have learned from it, even if you were not asked about it. 4. Data Interpretation Ability As a product manager, you are expected to deal with data. Almost every company tries to check your ability to analyze data, run AB-testing, interpret statistics, etc. The best you can do is to include data interpretation in success and failure cases. However, in order to be 100% safe, you can also have a separate case in your pocket. Think about the following: Numbers were questionable, but you managed to deal with it and found the truth. There were way too many data sources and you were capable of understanding what was going on. You’ve checked your hypothesis with the help of sophisticated metrics. And don’t forget to use real numbers anywhere you can. Otherwise, you are risking sounding ungrounded and shallow. 5. User Research and Insights The next must-have for a PM is to be user-oriented when making product decisions. Try to include user research, customer development interviews, or any other user interaction in your cases. Showcase your ability not only to speak to real customers but also to get useful insights out of it and to grow your metrics with them. 6. Stakeholders Management I don’t know who rules the PM world more: users or stakeholders. That’s why it is really important to be able to present your ability to deal with different stakeholders. Include in your cases examples when: You had to explain to a stakeholder that he or she was wrong; You managed to resolve a conflict between different stakeholders; You were able to understand the initial needs of a stakeholder; Or any other complicated situations with stakeholders that you have successfully managed. 7. Unexpected Situations This one shouldn’t be hard as the PM's life consists of unexpected situations. Prepare the case where everything didn’t go according to plan, and explain how easily you dealt with it. Again, think of something big and fresh. 8. Team Leadership Now, it’s time to focus on the team and your leadership skills. Showcase the situation where you spearheaded the project and lead the team to success. If it was not initially intended to be led by you – it would be just perfect! 9. Conflict Resolution When it comes to people management, you should also prepare an example of a conflict situation that you were able to resolve successfully. As you don’t want to appear confrontational, think about the case where you were involved but you weren’t the reason for the conflict. I’d rather avoid speaking about intense situations which can make you emotional. Try to select a case where you can present every side of the conflict without extra judgments. 10. Tough Deadlines and Resources Another useful example is a case where you had to deliver some results with tough deadlines and limited resources. Almost every business wants to have managers who can save time and money –– showcase your ability to do that. 11. Strengths and Weaknesses Now, let’s touch on a couple of generic questions starting with your strengths and weaknesses. Or your drivers and limitations. Or your superpowers and pain points. Here are my thoughts on it: 3 is a great number, try to come up with a list of 3 drivers and 3 limitations. Less is not so convincing, while more is hard to perceive. Try to make these lists versatile: one thing about the product work, another about the teamwork, and one more about your personality, for example. Remember to focus on the positive parts. If you speak about your pain points, specify how you deal with them. Even your weaknesses should showcase your strengths. 12. What Are You Looking For in a New Job? This question is very important even if no one asks you about it during the interview. Not only because your interviewers should check whether what you are looking for correlates with their expectations. But you also should be able to test whether the company can give you what you want. That’s why try to answer as honestly as possible when it comes to what you expect from your future job. And be ready to present it briefly within 3 bullet points. 13*. Bonus: How to Make Your Favorite Product Better? Bonus part. I don’t know why, but I was asked this question at least once at each round of my job search: 10 years ago, 7 years ago, 5 years ago, and now. That’s why I suggest you have an answer to it: what is your favorite product and how can you make it better? You can adjust the answer for each company to connect with the actual industry and the company’s values. Here is a brief summary in one picture that you can save for future use: Your Questions And… that is not the end. Do not forget to prepare your questions as it is also a great way to present yourself and stand out from hundreds of applicants. Try to ask questions that can shed some light on the things you’ve listed in question #12. If you got stuck here, I can give you some ideas to start with: What is your biggest challenge at the moment? What does your average day/week look like? What is the proportion of different types of work that you have (deep work, meeting, routine, etc.)? What don’t you like about your job at the moment? What bothers you? These questions are pretty general and can start a very useful and insightful discussion. What else do you prepare for the job interview, and how do you pack your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments below. And good luck in finding your next perfect job!
