Main takeaways: - What to ask in interviews when you're new to the Product Manager role - What to ask in interviews when you're an experienced Product Manager - How to come up with new questions

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5. Milena Stoeva
T O N I G H T ’ S S P E A K E R

6. ask the right
questions
find the perfect product role by asking
the right questions in your PM
interviews

7. a little bit about me
● A product manager for 6 years
● Currently a PM at Avast Software working on the secure browser team
● Previously a PM at Crowdcube, an equity crowdfunding platform

8. “The quality of your life is
determined by the quality of
your questions”
-- someone from the internet

9. good questions
● A competency trigger
● A learning tool
● A skill

10. ● Build a question toolbox
● Review and refine it after research
● Review and refine it after interviews
● Don’t ask questions for which you can easily find answers
tips and tactics

11. company basics
● What does the company do?
● Where is the company located? Where are their customers?
● How does it make money? Is it profitable?
● How big is the company? The product team?
● Why are they building the products they are building?

12. company essentials
● What is the mission and vision?
● How does the current product address that mission and vision?
● How often is the mission and vision referenced in company blogs or
pages?

13. Transportation as reliable as
running water, everywhere for
everyone.

14. Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the
world’s transition to sustainable
energy.

15. To entertain, inform and inspire people around
the globe through the power of unparalleled
storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands,
creative minds and innovative technologies
that make ours the world's premier
entertainment company.

16. Is this company mission
something I want to think about
for 50+ hours a week?

17. product teams
● How are product teams structured? Around KPIs? Product
features?
● How do product teams work?
● What team will I be joining and who else is on that team? How do
they work?
● Why did the previous person in this role leave?

18. associate // junior product managers
● What product area will I be working on?
● Who will I be working with?
● Who will I report to?
● What is the growth trajectory for this position?

19. ● What is the size and shape of the product-engineering team?
● How do they ship? Who is responsible for shipping?
● Where do product ideas come from? Top down? Or bottom up?
● How do you gather and act on customer feedback?
● Who are the stakeholders? How do they influence the backlog?
mid-level product managers

20. senior // lead product managers
● What is the product strategy and how is the current roadmap
supporting that strategy?
● What drives the priority of your roadmap?
● Whom does this role report into?
● Who defines the product strategy?
● How are teams defined and shaped?

21. director // head of product
● Has the company changed strategy? Why? What drove that
change?
● Who are the current investors? To what extent do they influence the
product vision and strategy?
● How does the management team work with the board and advisors?
● What does it mean to scale the team and to what extent do you

22. how do you come up with the right questions?
Company research
● Answer 5 Ws
● Look up company mission and visions statements
● Assess strategy
● Read recent blog posts
● Read quarterly reports // check Companies House filings

23. how do you come up with the right questions?
What do you like best about your current role? What are the
company/culture/team factors that contribute to doing that work?
● Autonomy
● Peer // mentor support
● Team culture
● Psychological safety

24. how do you come up with the right questions?
What do you dislike about your current role? What are the
company/culture/team factors that contribute to that?
● Lack of focus
● Unclear team roles
● High pressure environment
● Stakeholder-driven roadmap

25. how do you come up with the right questions?
What are your personal career goals? What would you like to get out of your
next role?
● Bigger scope of responsibility
● More hands-on UX experience
● Work more closely with stakeholders and other teams
● Work with product mentors

26. check in with yourself
Do I want to learn here?

27. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management Training Courses
and
Corporate Training