PM interviews are really challenging. The questions are difficult, specific to Google, and cover a wide range of topics.
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The good news is that the right preparation can make a big difference and help you land a Product Manager job at Google. We have put together the ultimate guide to help you maximize your chances of success.
Tell me about yourself. Perhaps this the most common and famous interview question of all. Download the Interview Cheat Sheet Here Download the Interview Checklist Here The Muse is the go-to destination for the next-gen workforce to research companies and careers—offering expert advice, job opportunities, a peek behind the scenes at companies hiring now, and career coaching services.
Here's an overview of what we will cover:
1. Interview process and timeline ↑
What's the Google PM interview process and timeline? The process takes four to eight weeks on average and follows these steps:
- Resume, cover letter, referrals
- Phone screens (one to two interviews)
- On-site interviews (four to six interviews)
- Hiring committee recommendation
- Senior leader review
- Compensation committee recommendation
- Senior executive review
- You get an offer!
Note that these steps are similar, but not identical, to the process for Google APM interviews.
1.1 What interviews to expect?
First, it's important that you understand the different stages of your PM interview process with Google. In most cases, here are the steps you'll go through:
- Resume and cover letter screening
- Phone screen with recruiter: one interview
- Phone screen with PMs: one to two interviews
- On-site: four to six interviews
Phone screens last about 30 minutes and are typically carried out first by a recruiter and then by one or two PMs. The aim of the call is to check that you meet the basic requirements for the position and stand a chance of getting hired. Recruiters tend to ask more behavioral and resume questions, while PMs tend to jump straight into product design, estimation, and strategy questions (more on that below). If Google is really excited about your profile they might send you on-site straight away and skip this screening step.
On-site interviews are the real test. You'll typically spend a full day at a Google office and do two interviews in the morning, then have lunch with a fellow PM and do three interviews in the afternoon. Each interview will last 30 to 45 minutes. Most of the interviewers you meet will be product managers, but occasionally you might also interview with an engineer who will assess your technical skills and ability to communicate with developers.
The interviews are very structured. Each of your interviewers will evaluate you, take copious notes and then file a detailed report. The lunch interview is meant to be your time to ask your questions. Google won't be evaluating you during this time, but we recommend that you behave like if they were.
1.2 What happens behind the scenes
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If things go well at your on-site interviews here is what the final steps of the process look like:
- Interviewers submit feedback
- Hiring committee recommendation
- Senior leader review
- Compensation committee recommendation
- Final executive review
- You get an offer
After your on-site, your interviewers will all submit their feedback and grade your answers to their questions. This feedback is then reviewed by a hiring committee, along with your resume, internal referrals, and any past work you have submitted.
At this stage, the hiring committee makes a recommendation on whether Google should hire you or not. That recommendation is reviewed and validated by a Senior manager before your candidate packet is sent to a compensation committee which will decide how much money you are offered. Finally, a Senior Google executive reviews a summary of your candidacy and compensation before the offer is sent to you.
As you've probably gathered by now, Google goes to great lengths to avoid hiring the wrong candidates. This hiring process with multiple levels of validations helps them scale their teams while maintaining a high caliber of employees. But it also means that the typical process lasts four to eight weeks and sometimes much more.
1.3 How many PMs does Google hire every year?
At this point you might be wondering what your chances are. The good news is that Google is growing quickly and needs an increasing number of engineers and PMs every year.
We estimate that the number of PMs at Google grew from about 800 to 5,000 between 2007 and the end of 2018. At the time of writing this article Google hires about 500 to 800 new PMs per year.
Here are the steps we took to get to these estimates if you are interested in more details:
- Number of employees: Google reports their number of employees every year in their annual report.
- Number of engineers: At the time of writing, 40% of job ads for Google are for engineering positions. For each year we therefore multiplied the number of employees by 40% to get to the number of engineers.
- Number of PMs: The typical ratio of PMs to Engineers at tech companies is between one to eight and one to ten. We've assumed one to eight here to convert the number of engineers into a number of PMs.
Note: the total number of employees at Google decreased between 2012 and 2013 which explains the dip you can see in the number of PMs at the company for these years.
Google needs more and more PMs every year which might lead you to believe that getting hired isn't that hard. But this actually isn't the case. Google hires less than 1% of applicants and is therefore one of the toughest employers to break into in the world. (Interestingly, this number grows to 5% if you are referred by a current employee.)
However, the good news is that cracking PM interviews is actually really manageable once you know what to prepare for. So let's take a look at the different types of questions Google will ask you.
2. Example questions ↑
The main difficulty with PM interviews at Google is that you will be asked a wide range of questions. We've grouped them in six buckets and analyzed how frequently they were asked by Google using questions reported by former candidates on Glassdoor.com.
Here are the results:
- Design questions (32%)
- Strategy questions (18%)
- Estimation questions (15%)
- Behavioral questions (14%)
- Technical questions (13%)
- Data analysis questions (8%)
Let's step through each type of question, take a look at a few examples, and briefly discuss why Google asks these questions.
2.1 Design questions (32%)
One of the PM's core tasks is to help design new product features and improve existing ones. It's therefore not surprising that design questions make up about a third of the questions Google interviewers ask.
These questions assess your customer empathy, creativity, and ability to use a structured approach to design products. Here are a few questions Google has asked in the past.
For more information, check our articles on how to answer product design questions, product improvement questions and the favorite product question in PM interviews.
| Example design questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
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2.2 Strategy questions (18%)
PMs are responsible for setting the product vision and the roadmap to deliver it. In other words, they're in charge of product strategy. In your interviews you'll therefore be given strategic questions to discuss with your interviewer.
These questions assess if you're comfortable thinking about the wide range of aspects good PMs need to take into account when making product decisions. This includes competition, pricing, marketing, time to market, etc.
Thinking through all these aspects requires creativity and a structured approach. For more information, check out our article on how to answer strategy interview questions.
| Example strategy questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
2.3 Estimation questions (15%)
Making product decisions often requires estimating market sizes, revenue potential, number of customers, etc. Estimation questions test your ability to work with numbers and to break down problems.
Mac os system update. In estimation questions, interviewers don't care so much about whether you get to the right number or not. What they are really interested in is how you think through the problem and how comfortable you are making assumptions and simple calculations.
For more information, check our article on how to answer estimation questions in PM interviews.
| Example estimation questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
2.4 Behavioral questions (14%)
As in most interview processes you'll also need to answer behavioral interview questions. These questions tend to fall into three categories:
- your motivation to work at Google and as a PM
- your past experiences, mainly around managing conflict and working with a diverse group of stakeholders
- your understanding of what good PMs do and don't do
These questions aren't particularly hard compared to some of the other ones we are listing in this article and are sometimes overlooked by candidates. So, it's worth spending some time to prepare answers for them to build a small edge against other applicants. For more information, check out our article on how to answer behavioral interview questions and the 'Why google?' question.
| Example behavioral questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
2.5 Technical questions (13%)
Google was founded by PhD students and has retained a tradition of hiring particularly technical candidates. This applies to product management too, and Google PMs tend to be more technical than average.
As a consequence, you'll typically need to answer one or two technical questions during your interview process. As you can see below these questions don't tend to include coding or pseudo-coding. They are centered on whether or not you understand certain technical concepts and can explain them simply.
For more information, check out our article on how to answer technical interview questions.
| Example technical questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
2.6 Data analysis questions (8%)
Finally, each Google product has a set of hero and secondary metrics which are used by PMs to assess if their product is successful and to decide what their team should work on next. Your interviewers will therefore ask you one or two questions about what metrics you would track for a given situation, or how you would investigate the changes in a given metric. If you already know what product team you'll interviewing for, it's worth thinking about these metrics in advance.
For more information, check out our article on how to answer metric interview questions.
| Example data analytics questions asked by Google |
Exercise: Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments section below, without looking at other people's answers. This is a great opportunity to gain some practice for your PM interviews. |
3. Preparation tips ↑
Now that you know what questions to expect, let's focus on how to prepare. Here are the five most important things you can do to ace your Google product manager interviews.
3.1 Deep dive into the product / organization
As you've probably figured out from the example questions listed above, you can't become a PM at Google without being familiar with Google's products and its organization. You'll therefore need to do some homework before your interviews.
Here are some resources to help you get started with this:
- Alphabet annual reports and strategy presentations (by Alphabet)
- Google strategy teardown (by CB Insights)
- Google org culture analysis (by Panmore Institute)
3.2 Brush up on product fundamentals
If you're already an experienced PM then this step doesn't apply to you. But if you're more junior or if you're trying to break into product management then it's worth spending some time on refreshing your memory about basic product management concepts.
Here is a list of free resources to give you a starting point:
- Popular PM interview books reviewed (by IGotAnOffer)
- Digital Product Management (by the University of Boston - free to audit)
- Product Management Guides (by Aha.io)
- Product Design (by Udacity)
- What distinguishes the top 1% of product managers from the top 10%? (by Ian McAllister on quora)
- Product vs. Feature Teams (by Silicon Valley Product Group)
- What's something product managers know that others don't? (by Dan Schmidt on quora)
- Product Requirements Document Example (by Product Hunt)
- Data-Driven Product Management: Choosing the Right Metrics for Your Product (by productcoalition.com)
- How Should Product Managers Say No? (by productcoalition.com)
3.3 Learn a consistent method for answering PM interview questions
As mentioned previously, Google will ask you questions that fall into certain categories: design, strategy, estimation, behavioral, technical, and data analysis. Approaching each question with a predefined method will enable you to build strong interview habits.
Then, when it comes time for your interviews, these habits will reduce your stress and help you to make a great impression. Here is a list of our free guides on different types of PM interview questions to help you prepare:
- Prioritization questions (by Product Manager HQ)
BUT, having a method for solving PM interview questions isn’t enough by itself. You also need to be able to communicate your answers clearly, under the pressure of interview conditions. That’s where practice comes into play.
3.4 Practice by yourself or with peers
In our experience, practicing by yourself is a great way to prepare for PM interviews. You can ask and answer questions out loud, to help you get a feel for the different types of PM interview questions. Practicing by yourself will help you perfect your step-by-step approach for each question type. It also gives you time to correct your early mistakes.
If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's a great option too. This can be especially helpful if your friend has experience with PM interviews, or is at least familiar with the process. You can also find peers to practice with on our new PM mock interview platform.
3.5 Practice with experienced PM interviewers
Finally, you should also try to practice with experienced PM interviewers as they’ll be able to give you much more accurate feedback than friends and peers. If you know a Product Manager who can help you, that's fantastic! But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.
Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can practice 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from leading tech companies like Google. Learn more and start scheduling sessions today.
PM Interview Coaching
Any questions about Google PM interviews?
If you have any questions about Google PM interviews, do not hesitate to ask them below and we will be more than happy to answer them. All questions are good questions, so go ahead!
Keep reading:product manager interview articles
Phone interviews are becoming a nearly ubiquitous piece of the job seeking process. Even though they’re becoming more common, they can still be intimidating. With the right amount of preparation, though, you’ll be one step closer to getting a new job.
In this article, we detail some essential phone interview tips and strategies on how best to answer common interview questions. Plus, we’ll provide you with a downloadable phone interview cheat sheet to help you prepare for your next interview.
Phone Interview Tips
1. Avoid Noise
Before your interview, secure a secluded space with minimal distractions. In a quiet spot, you’ll be able to focus, and both you and the interviewer will be able to hear each other clearly.
2. Research the Company
According to a survey from Glassdoor, 88 percent of hiring managers believe that a quality candidate is informed on the company and the open position. That means a little time spent researching beforehand can go a long way toward you getting the job.
3. Read the Job Posting More Than Once
The job posting is like a wish list from the company and outlines key skills and preferences it is looking for in candidates. Use the job description to determine which of your skills and experiences to highlight.
4. Speak Clearly
In a phone interview, it is crucial for you to speak clearly because your interviewer can’t use visual cues or body language to fully understand you. Don’t be afraid to pause after a question is asked so you can collect your thoughts, and slow down if you feel you’re speaking too quickly.
5. Dress Up
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A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology observed that well-dressed participants in a mock buying and selling exercise secured more profits and made fewer concessions than the participants who wore casual clothing. This research proves that the old adage “dress for success” may have some truth to it after all.
6. Be Engaging
Find common ground with your interviewers and chat for a bit. Making a personal connection could resonate with them. They may not remember all the candidates, but they will likely remember someone who went to their college or also loves their favorite author.
7. Give Concise Answers
Most phone interviews are short and don’t leave a lot of time to say everything you want. Strategize ahead of time on what your most important talking points could be. Distill your applicable experience and professional goals into short soundbites.
8. Be Prepared
Have your résumé, the job description and our downloadable phone interview cheat sheet at your fingertips so you’ll be able to respond with perfectly-crafted answers without having to scramble.
9. Ask Questions
Preparing questions for the interviewer shows you’re serious about the job. These questions can be about the company overall, things the job description didn’t mention, or you can ask about the next steps in the hiring process.
Free Phone Interview Cheat Sheet
Download our free phone interview cheat sheet. Be sure to fill in the blanks ahead of time and be prepared!
Tips for Answering Interview Questions
In an interview, the questions are rarely as straightforward as they seem. Below, we’ll analyze typical questions and break down how to answer them.
What are your weaknesses and strengths?
In the past, the best way to answer this question was to spin your negatives as a positive. Now, that answer comes across as unimaginative. Hiring managers instead prefer you discuss a time when you struggled professionally and what steps you took to overcome that challenge. Addressing shortcomings demonstrates that you’re adaptable, determined and motivated.
When considering your strengths, refer to the job description. By focusing on specific, job-related strengths, you can make a memorable impression with your interviewer.
When did you go above and beyond?
Interviews ask this question to learn if you’re someone who is willing to take on leadership roles or extra responsibility. It’s not necessarily how you solved the problem, but that you were the one to solve it. Os catalina on macbook pro 2012.
Why you are looking for a new job?
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This question isn’t an opportunity to criticize your current or previous employer. Consider whether that position had avenues for personal or professional growth, or whether you’re looking for a bigger challenge.
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Raising Your Stock as a Candidate
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Take your professional goals further with our online MBA. Designed for working adults like you, you can earn this degree in as few as 14 months.