1. How to Get a Job
Product Manager

2. Introduction
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3. My new book on product management (PM) interviews
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#GetPMJob

4. Agenda
Agenda
 Role & responsibilities
 Hiring process
 PM Interview
What I’ve assumed
You’re looking to transition into PM
This class is not for
Experienced PM professionals
Resources
Decode and Conquer – world’s first book on PM interviews
Quicksheet.co – class videos on preparing for specific PM roles
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5. The Role
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6. What Product Managers “Can” Do
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4
1
6
PM
Marketing
#GetPMJob
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7. Product Managers “Could” Do it All
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8. What Product Managers “Typically” Do
Understand
the customer
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Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
#GetPMJob
Serve as
launch lead
Collect
feedback

9. Understand
the customer
Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
Primary POC
for launch
Collect
feedback
Understanding the customer
Personas
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1.
2
2.
3.
5
3
4
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4.
5.
Name and alias
Problem quotes
Age, day in the life,
thoughts & feelings
Goals
Behavioral variables

10. Understand
the customer
Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
Primary POC
for launch
Collect
feedback
Developing requirements
User stories
As a <role>, I want <goal/desire> so that <benefit>.
Examples
 As an administrator, I want to be able to add/delete/change
my boss’s schedule so that I don’t have to use his password.
 As a Facebook user, I want to see out-of-town friends who
send status messages in my hometown first, so that I can
send them a note.
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11. Understand
the customer
Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
Primary POC
for launch
Prioritizing resources
Prioritization matrix
User Story
Revenue
Customer
Satisfaction
Implementation
Difficulty
Overall
Story A
3
3
1
9
Story B
2
2
2
6
Story C
1
1
3
3
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Collect
feedback

12. Understand
the customer
Serving as launch owner
Responsibilities
 Manage project execution
 Primary exec contact
 Primary product contact
 Primary press contact
Key documents
 Product FAQ
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#GetPMJob
Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
Primary POC
for launch
Collect
feedback

13. Understand
the customer
Develop
requirements
Prioritize
resources
Evaluating customer feedback
A/B test: Adding “upload photo” to social network sign-up flow
Lift
P-Value
# of users completing signup
-13.21%
0.02
Profile completeness
+1.65%
0.01
# of users the posted
+2.11%
0.05
# posts
+4.85%
0.01
# of invites sent
+2.36%
0.02
1 day retention
+2.12%
0.07
7 day retention
+1.08%
0.20
30 day retention
N/A
N/A
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Primary POC
for launch
Collect
feedback

14. Day-in-the-life of a PM
8:15a Go through emails
8:45a Read TC; check out Nest UI
9a Review mock-ups with designer
10a Lead daily stand-up meeting
10:30a Check email
11:30a Customer call with sales team
12p Lunch meeting with market research team
1p Last minute prep for product roadmap review
2p Product roadmap preso to executives
3p Send out meeting notes to team
3:30p Lead eng. call with Google to discuss API implementation
4:30p Review A/B test results
5:30p Work on product roadmap & tweak product backlog
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15. Hiring Process
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16. Most hiring managers scan resumes in 6 seconds
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17. Resume advice
BE RELEVANT
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18. If you really want the PM job…
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19. How one person’s design project turned into a job
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20. Top tier press mentions
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21. Good news
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22. Winning the Interview
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23. Google PM role
Top 3 skills
• Product design (& development)
• Technical skills
• Analytical skills
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24. Example Google PM interview questions
Area
Example
Product design
You are the PM for Google+. What killer feature would you build?
Analytical
How many queries per second does Gmail get?
Strategy
Why is Google Trusted Stores strategically important?
Technical
Write an algorithm that detects meeting conflicts.
Behavioral
Tell me a time when you influenced engineering
Warm-Up
Tell me about yourself. Why Google? Why PM?
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25. Reasons why PM candidates get dinged
General
 No structure / plan
 Poor judgment
 Not composed
Product design
 Limited creativity
Analytical
 Can’t crunch numbers
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26. CIRCLES method™
C omprehend the Situation
I dentify the Customer
R eport the Customer’s Needs
C ut, Through Prioritization
L ist Solutions
E valuate Tradeoffs
S ummarize Your Recommendation
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27. How to prepare
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28. Managing your PM Career
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29. The product manager career path
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30. Q&A
Where to Find Me
Email
lewis@impactinterview.com
Type your questions
into the chat box
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lewislin
Twitter
@lewis_lin
Class videos
QuickSheet.co
1:1 coaching
ImpactInterview.com
Want to help?
If you liked my book, leave a review on Amazon.com
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PM Book
Decode and Conquer