Product managers are sometimes called the "CEO of a product." But what is a product manager really and how you do you land this role? How to crack the PM interview?
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The Great Pitch
ďTells an [engaging] story
ďSends a message.Who are you, really?
ďAddresses your âstereotypeâ
19. Gayle Laakmann McDowell 19gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Goals of Answering BehavioralQs
Good
Content
Good Communication
+
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Structure 1: Nugget First
ďLead with your âthesisâ/ nugget
ďŽ Grabs thelistenerâsattention
ďŽ Givesthemcontextforwhereyouâregoing.
Iâm most proud of program I set up to âŚ
Q: What accomplishment are you most
proud of?
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Structure 2: S.A.R.
S
A
R
What was the issue?
What did you do about it?
What was the impact?
Whatâs themessage?
22. Gayle Laakmann McDowell 22gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Story Diagram
Story1 Story2
NUGGET
SITUATION
ACTION
What&Why&How
RESULT
THEMESSAGE
DO DIFFERENTLY
23. gayle in/gaylemcdgayle 23Gayle Laakmann McDowell
Most
Common
Issues
ďToo much âweâ, too littleâIâ
ďŽ Especiallyleaders&women
ďToo littleaction
ďNo message
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What Iâm looking for
ďIf youâll admitto bad stuff
ďIf youâve really failed
ďHow you respond to bad things
26. Gayle Laakmann McDowell 26gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Weaknesses, Failures& Mistakes
ďBe REAL
ďBe COMPELLING
ďBe CHANGED
The best candidates connect
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Anddonât forgetâŚ
the
USER
the
WHITEBOARD
32. Gayle Laakmann McDowell 32gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Make sure youknow
ďFavorite WEBSITE
ďFavorite MOBILE APP
ďFavorite PHYSICAL PRODUCT
ďFavorite COMPANY PRODUCT
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Your Favorites
ďWhy do you love it?
ďWhoare the users?
ďWhat do they use it for?
ďHow do they competitors compare?
ďWhatproblems are there?
ďHow would you improve it?
40. Gayle Laakmann McDowell 40gayle in/gaylemcdgayle
Step 1: Ambiguous Information
ďJust in theUS? Or Worldwide?
ďProfit or revenue?
ďPastyear? Or average over history?
ďGmail only? Or includeGoogle Apps?
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Step 2: Outline YourApproach
1. Estimate # of Gmail users
2. Estimate annualclicks
a. Top clicks
b. Side clicks
3. Estimate $ per click
a. Top clicks
b. Side clicks
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Step 3:Break downcomponents
Estimate # of Gmail usersin theUS
1. Assume 300 million people in the US.
ďŽ Exclude0 -12 yearsold and65- 75yearsold
ďŽ ď ~200 million
2. Assume 80% of people use email
ďŽ But 50% only use their work email acct
3. Assume 80% use a âmajorâ email provider
ďŽ Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc.
⌠and so on âŚ
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Step 4:Sanity Check
ďSuppose you get US rev. = $5 billion.
ďNo, becauseâŚ
ďŽ Googleâsannualrevenueis~$30billion
ďŽ $16/ UScitizen(notjustgmailusers)
45. How would you launch Amazon
in Turkey?
How would you price
a new e-book reader?
User signs up drop after launching new
profiles. What would you do?
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Many other questiontypes!
ď Problemsolving
ďŽ Acquisition rates dropped. Why?
ď Strategy
ďŽ Should wedo X orY?
ď Marketing
ďŽ How would youmarketX to Y?
ď Pricing
ďŽ How would youprice X?
ď Launching
ďŽ How would youlaunchX incountryY?
ď Brainstorming
ďŽ Nameas manythings youcould do with X
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If you forget everythingâŚ
ďKnow who you are
ďŽ (andwhowethinkyouare)
ďFocus on theuser
ďStructure your responses