and in this tutorial, I will teach you how to prepare for, and pass, a product manager

interview. It does not matter which organization you have your PRODUCT MANAGER interview for,

please do make sure you stay tuned and watch this tutorial from beginning to end because

I promise you I am going to make you the STAND OUT CANDIDATE during your interview! I will

achieve this by covering the following different elements during this tutorial. I'm going to

give you some good tips for passing your product manager interview. I am also going to give

you a number of sample product manager interview questions. These are common questions that

come up regularly during product manager interviews. I will also give you SUGGESTED ANSWERS to

tough product manager interview questions to help you prepare. I will tell you the qualities

the interviewer is looking for. And then, at the end of the presentation, I will give

you THREE QUESTIONS that I think you should ask the interview panel at the end of your

product manager interview. So, five really good, valid reasons for you to watch this

from beginning to end. Now, before I get into the content and teach how to pass your product

manager interview, a very warm welcome to this tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn.

That's me there in the center. I have been helping people to pass their interviews for

about 20 years now. I am a former fire officer and also a manager myself with many years’

experience and I always help you by giving you TOP-SCORING ANSWERS to the interview questions.

Please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE by clicking the red button below the video and also make

sure you turn on that NOTIFICATION BELL so you get notified the minute I upload new videos.

I would also very much appreciate your support if you gave the video a LIKE -thank you very

much. That tells me that you enjoy the content. I will then spend more time creating it for

you. So let's get into the tutorial - the Product Manager Interview Questions and Answers.

Please take notes as I progress. The first thing that I want to cover quickly is the

QUALITIES that you need to demonstrate during your interview. So you have to be able to

manage and lead a team of people. It is likely there will be some questions based around

how you communicate and interact with teams of people both internally and externally,

and also your ability to handle conflict. You also have to have an eye for detail - great

attention to detail skills. Always maintain the highest standards possible, be capable

of resolving conflict within teams. You must have strong communication and interpersonal

skills because you need to build relationships and also be able to create and follow product

roadmaps and systems. So, within the answers that are going to come right now, I have covered

all of these different qualities to make sure you are the standout candidate. By the way,

if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn.com, I've put my ‘Linked In link’ in the description

below the video. It's always good to connect with like-minded people. OK. Let's get into

those product manager interview questions and answers. First question that I want to

cover is: Tell me about yourself and why you want to become a product manager? An important

tip for answering this question is, in your answer, list the skills, the qualities and

the experience you have that will be of benefit to the employer, and this is how to do it.

“I believe the skills, qualities and experience I have make me the perfect candidate for this

position. Throughout my career, I have continually learnt, developed and improved to point where

I now feel I am a highly competent and effective Product Manager. I want to become a Product

Manager because the skills, the qualities and the experience I possess are a strong

match for the person specification, which means I can hit the ground running and make

a solid, positive start as your Product Manager. I have great attention to detail skills, I

can manage and lead a team of people to achieve a company’s commercial objectives, I am

a strong communicator and I can also be relied upon to deliver all product-related tasks

and products on time and to the necessary standards.” That is a great answer! It shows

that you are confident in your own abilities. You are giving them loads of really positive

strengths and qualities that you have, and you are also explaining why you want to be

a product manager. Let's move on to the second question of our product manager interview.

Why do you want to work for our company as the product manager? So, here is my tip for

answering this question. In your answer, demonstrate you have researched their organization carefully.

And also give them THREE MAIN REASONS why you want to work for them as a product manager.

Here is my sample response to the question: Why do you want to work for our company as

a product manager? Here we go. “When I first saw this job advertised, I was attracted to

it primarily because the position is with your company. You have a good reputation within

this industry; people speak highly of you and I feel the standards, ethics and values

you expect from your staff, are a perfect match for my own. To answer your question

specifically, I want to work for your company for three reasons. You have ambitious plans

for the future, which I would like to be a part of. You will clearly support me in my

role as Product Manager, and finally, during my research I was hugely impressed with the

quality products you create and provide for your loyal customer base.” What I love about

that answer, is it shows that you have researched them and you are paying them compliments,

but also you are giving THREE REASONS why you want to work for them. And that demonstrates

to the interviewer that you really have thought about this carefully, and you are therefore

more likely to stay with them for the long term. Let's take a look at another product

manager interview question: Tell me how you'd describe our product to someone who wanted

something similar, but only much cheaper? So, tell me how you’d describe our product

to someone who wanted something similar, but only much cheaper? Explain how important it

is to really know the product in detail when communicating with customers or clients and

explain the product BENEFITS to the customer and then try to ADD VALUE where possible.

Here is my suggested answer to this product manager interview question. “First and foremost,

it would be vital that I have a thorough working and in-depth knowledge of your products. Whilst

communicating with the customer or the client, I would use previous testimonials, concentrate

on the positive product features and how these will benefit them, and also explain the costs

versus benefits element. For example, I would say: “This product is set at a price that

demonstrates its value in terms of the difference it will make to you, the end user. We have

not received one negative review from our customers who are using the product, and the

feedback we are receiving shows the benefits far outweigh the investment you would be making

by purchasing this product. We also provide outstanding support post-purchase for all

of our customers, so you would have the peace of mind that it will fulfill all of your needs

and requirements.” Again, what I like about that answer is it is positive in nature, but

you are actually saying to them… “This is what I would say.” You are thinking on

your feet and you are also demonstrating WHY their product is great and it is worth the

investment somebody is making. The next product manager interview question I want to cover

is: “How would you write a value proposition for a product? This is a tough interview question.

How would you write a value proposition for a product? And as a product manager, you need

to know this. So, my tips for answering the question is… when answering this product

manager interview question, follow a 4-STEP PROCESS to demonstrate you are knowledgeable

in value proposition. If you say, “there are four stages that I would follow”, that

demonstrates that you really do know what you're talking about, instead of sitting there

and, you know, thinking on your feet for a great answer. So, if you say there are four

steps I would follow that demonstrates to the interviewer, you do know what you're talking

about. Here we go. “I always write a product value proposition using a 4-step process.

Step 1 is where I list the BENEFITS of the product. Step 2 is where I write a brief description

of how each benefit ADDS VALUE to the product. Step 3 is where I identify what PROBLEM the

customer has, before ALIGNING the products BENEFITS to their problem and how it will

overcome them. Finally, step 4 is where I write down why our company is the PREFERRED

SUPPLIER for this product – and this is usually based on customer feedback, customer

support and also positive testimonials.” You can see the power there of answering that

interview question by having FOUR DIFFERENT STEPS that you will follow. And by using these

four steps, it makes it easier for you to remember this for your interview. Let's have

a look at another product manager interview question and answer. By the way, I hope you

are enjoying this? Hopefully, you can see the amount of work that I put into these videos.

Please don't forget to SUBSCRIBE and also hit that LIKE button. Thank you very much.

So, the next question is: How would you deal with conflict between two team members? This

is your opportunity to demonstrate effective management skills. Show you are capable of

dealing with conflict confidently and also by following a set tried-and-tested process.

Here is my suggested answer to the product manager interview question, how would you

deal with conflict between two team members? “Any form of conflict is unhelpful to the

team and to the productivity of an organization. Therefore, I would act decisively and confidently

to get to the bottom of the conflict quickly with a view to resolving it. I would speak

to both team members and encourage them to resolve the conflict between themselves by

engaging in open and honest communication. If this was not successful, I would facilitate

discussions myself, prioritize the areas of conflict and then put a plan in place to get

both team members back to full and engaging working capacity as soon as possible.” This

shows you have good management skills. You are able to deal with a situation. First of

all, by confidently encouraging them to sort it out themselves. If not, you will get more

involved. And that is the way to answer any interview question that is based on resolving

team conflict. Next question: What would you do in the first 30 days of starting as our

product manager? So we want to think about what we're going to do in this role before

we get the job, because that shows that you are really, really serious about working for

them, and you are enthusiastic about it. I can promise you’ll probably be the only

person who has prepared an answer to this interview question prior to going to the interview.

My tip is: have a plan in place already of what you intend doing within the role, once

you start. Be ambitious in your plan and provide evidence of how you will make an immediate

impact once you start in the role of product manager. Here is my suggested answer. “I

already have a definitive plan of what I would do if I become your Product Manager. I would

speak to you, the senior management team, to establish the short, medium and long terms

objectives of the company and how I would need to ensure the work I carry out as the

Product Manager is closely aligned to those. I would then identify potential products to

help us achieve our goals by carrying out market research, specifying key product requirements

and specifications, and also setting definitive timescales for completion and implementation.

I would also get to know my team and brief them on what the expectations were in regard

to their performance and how it should be aligned to the company vision and the financial

objectives. I would also look to develop effective marketing strategies for all products and

ensure there were effective systems in place to meet all of our objectives.” Whatever

answer you give to that question, make sure you have a number of things that you are going

to do. What I like about that answer is that you are saying I ALREADY HAVE A PLAN in place.

I would speak to you to understand the short, medium and long term objectives. I would then

make sure what I do is aligned to those. I would then identify potential products, the

key specs, specifications and the requirements and then timescales that's important for completion

and implementation. You'd get to know your team; then brief them on what the expectations

are and how their work should align to the company vision and the financial objectives.

And then develop effective marketing strategies and make sure they were systems in place.

And to be effective as a manager, in my opinion, you should always work to SYSTEMS. They work

brilliantly in any organization and also in any business. So that's a great answer to

that interview question! Let's take a look at another one. How would you create an effective

product roadmap? Now, you may already have experience of creating product roadmaps. I

will give you a sample answer to this, but make sure the product roadmap you use is relevant

to your own industry. A product roadmap is a visual summary that essentially maps out

what needs to be done in order to achieve the product objectives. A roadmap for your

product is a strategic guide, if you like, that determines how you intend to execute

the product vision. Here is my suggested answer. “There are 7 steps I would follow when creating

an effective product roadmap. STEP 1 is where I create a vision that is customer-centric.

I always focus on the needs of the customer and how the product will benefit them or solve

a specific problem. This is essentially the WHY for the product. STEP 2 is where I will

collate inputs from key stakeholders and experienced members of the organization. STEP 3 is where

I will create the strategic themes and objectives of the product and determine the specific

features required. These will be set in conjunction with the customer requirements we had identified

in step 1. STEP 4 is where I will determine the product teams needed – the teams may

include the product creation team, a marketing team, the front end team, the back end team

and also an analytics team. STEP 5 is where I would set the timeline for product completion

and brief the teams on what we need to achieve and how we are going to do it. STEP 6 is where

we will allocate resources and provide support to all team members during the creation stage.

Finally, during STEP 7, we will complete product testing, product launch and effective marketing.”

That again, by using a number of steps, demonstrates that you have experience of creating product

roadmaps, but you are also good at managing product roadmaps and putting things in place.