The recent pandemic has impacted people all around the world and has negatively impacted the global economy and created job uncertainty for many. As a result, I have received an increase in daily emails and LinkedIn messages seeking advice and two common requests include interview tips and inquiring what it means to be a Product Manager. I have partnered with Bret Bodlovic, Senior Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Tech Sourcer at Amazon to provide a three-part series to give you all (1) an overview of product management, (2) product management interview tips, and (3) answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Overview
Part II of this series will detail Product Manager (PM) interview tips starting with understanding the job posting, to the actual interview. Our goal is that this will prepare you for your job search and upcoming interviews! If you missed Part I, you can view it here.
Understanding Job Postings
My Perspective (Product Manager)
Job postings can often times be generic, making it difficult to understand what your actual scope will be, if you will be working with an engineering team, etc. These are the key things that I look for:
Product: You will want to understand the product you are owning. I try to look for details that help me understand if it is an internal or customer facing product. If it is customer facing, the description will usually call out that you will work with UX designers and/or marketing. I have seen instances where the description mentions the product is customer impacting, but it is not an external feature (think back to my PMT example).
Scope: Look for information that describes what you will own. This helps you understand what product you will own, your influence, and potential visibility.
Tech Qualifications: If they state that an engineering degree or X years in product management are required, it is usually safe to apply. Typically, if you can show that you have effectively been in a product management role before, you have enough tech fluency for the role. If an engineering/CS degree its own requirement, this role is likely a PMT and will be significantly heavy on the technical side.
Cross-team Collaboration: This will not only help you understand your scope, but also help you understand if you will be working with engineers. If they do not mention working with an engineering team, it is likely not a traditional PM role.
Bret’s Perspective (Recruiter)
Keep in mind that nearly every company, every hiring manager, and every recruiter is looking to hire that dream “purple unicorn” or “diamond in the rough” candidate. While many roles require a specific domain, tech stack, industry experience, etc., PMs have a unique skill set and a keen ability to pick up new skills and technologies. As a tenured recruiter with 20+ years’ experience, I believe that if you have 80% of the desired job requirements, it never hurts to apply because of the ‘intangibles’ that Product Managers have to offer.
Interesting Fact: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/diversity/2019/how-women-find-jobs-gender-report
The primary role of a PM within Amazon is to create new products and features on behalf of customers. A PM at Amazon can have the following responsibilities: work cross-functionally to drive ideas from conception to execution, creating requirement specification for product development, developing marketing plans to drive awareness and adoption, segmenting customers and developing business models, analyzing success metrics, being the business owner of the product and diving deep into operations to understand how Amazon's different systems and infrastructure function and explore potential improvements. It can vary based on team and product, but this captures what Amazon is looking for in a PM.
Interview Tips
My Perspective (Product Manager)
Interviewing can be extremely overwhelming. Below are my top six tips for interviewing based on my experience.
Lead with your personality
Before an interview I have anxiety until the interviewer joins the call or walks into the room. Once the interview starts, I relax and lead with my personality. I want the interviewer to see me for who I am. I am energetic, not overly serious, and curious. For me, I believe this helps show that I am a good fit for the role and company. My personality is not for everyone. I once had a coffee chat with a hiring manager about a role on his team and he was very monotone, the team didn’t have many team events, and I could tell I simply annoyed him! I knew it was not a good fit for either of us – and that was okay.
2. Don’t change
You do not want companies to hire you because they think you are someone you’re not. For example, I do not change my hairstyle and I make sure I wear sneakers so that they see the person that will potentially be working for them. If they discriminate against you for your appearance, do you really want to work for them? Now, I am not saying to show up wrinkled, or in pajamas, but you should not change things like your hair, piercings, etc. to impress your interviewer. It took me a while to be comfortable doing this, but I am so pleased that I am. I encourage you to be yourself, too!
3. Be honest about your skill set
I am honest about what I can do, and what skills I am still learning/developing. For example, I am not the best at SQL but I am learning and am excited to continue to develop this skill. It is something that most companies would like for a PM to have, but it isn’t usually required. I have found that most employers are okay with teaching you certain things to enhance your skills. They want to see that you are coachable and eager to learn! You may see some roles that require a tech background. I recommend still applying but be upfront with your recruiter about your abilities. You do not want to start on your first day and they ask you to review code (yikes).
4. Ask pre-interview questions
Each company will have different interview techniques. I have experienced an “assessment day” with a round of case studies, general interview day with multiple interviews, and a combination of a presentation/case studies and general interviews. Do not be afraid to ask your recruiter for details. This is the best way for you to be prepared. The things I recommend asking are:
How many interviews will I have?
What are the roles of the people interviewing me?
Will there be a technical interview? If so, what are they hoping to see/learn?
Will the hiring manager interview me?
Are there case studies? If so, do you have an example? How can I best prepare?
5. Do your research
It is important to make sure you review the company’s mission and principles. Understanding how the company thinks and operates will not only help you understand the company culture and confirm if this is a company you want to work for, but it’s probable the company will also evaluate you against these guiding principles when determining if you’re right for the role. You will want to make sure your answers are aligned with their mission/principles without necessarily saying them. At Amazon, all behavioral questions are based on Amazon’s Leadership Principles. They use these principles for hiring, performance reviews, promotions, etc. Additionally, you want to be prepared to speak to why/how the company’s principles resonate with you. They will be looking to see if you took the time to learn about the company. You do not want to be caught off guard. Lastly, look at the company’s recent product announcements and press releases. As a PM, think about what are things that you like about a particular product? How would you enhance this product? Are there customer experience (CX) gaps? What are new innovative ideas that you have for this product and how would you tackle it? This will show the interviewer(s) that you are already thinking like a product manager for the company.
6. Ask questions during the interview
Remember that this is your opportunity to get a feel for the company culture, your responsibilities, scope, and visibility. Identify things that are important to you. Do not shy away from asking the recruiter and/or hiring manager these questions. Based on their answers and level of transparency, you can determine if you want to work there. Examples of questions that you can ask:
General questions
Do you share your gender and race diversity data and goals internally and publicly? If not, why? How do leaders hold themselves accountable to these goals? [Note: you can replace gender and race with the data you are interested in learning more about]
How do you all support Black, Latinx, and Native Americans (BLNA) and women in their development?
How did the company react to COVID-19? How are you all supporting employees and the community?
What is the company’s short-term and long-term view on remote work?
Is there an opportunity to travel in this role?
What is the level that I will start at? What level is entry level (this allows you to compare what level they are interviewing you for)?
What level is the manager that I would report into? How much management experience does this individual have?
Product management specific
How do you all make product decisions? Who is involved in these decisions?
Who manages the roadmap (tech or product)? Would I own the roadmap decisions, or would I be a contributor?
What methodology do you all use for grooming and sprint planning? What role does the PM play?
What is my interaction with the engineering and product design (if applicable) team? Do you have an example?
Bret’s Perspective (Recruiter)
As you begin preparing for your interview, keep in mind that many companies, including Amazon are data and metric driven. You should keep your focus on the question asked and make sure your answer is tangible. We suggest the STAR Method. The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing. As you follow each part of the STAR method, be as specific as possible at all times, without rambling or including too much information. Be sure your examples show how you are a leader, but also a team player. Additionally, eliminate any examples that do not paint you in a positive light. However, keep in mind that some examples that have a negative result (such as “lost the game”) can highlight your strengths in the face of adversity.
How to Prepare for a Behavioral Interview
Recall recent situations that show favorable behaviors or actions, especially involving work experience, leadership, teamwork, initiative, planning, and customer service.
Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
Be sure each story has a beginning, middle, and an end, i.e., be ready to describe the situation, including the task at hand, your action, and the outcome or result.
Be sure the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not favorable).
Be honest. Don't embellish or omit any part of the story. The interviewer will find out if your story is built on a weak foundation.
Be specific. Don't generalize about several events; give a detailed accounting of one event.
Vary your examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life.
Sample Behavioral Interview Questions
Practice using the STAR Method on these common behavioral interviewing questions incorporating examples from the Amazon Leadership Principles:
Tell me about a time when you have been faced with a challenge where the best way forward or strategy to adopt was not “clear cut” (i.e. there were a number of possible solutions). How did you decide the best way forward?
Give me an example of a time when you tried to accomplish something and failed.
Give me an example of when you showed initiative and took the lead.
Give me an example of a time when you motivated others.
Tell me about a time when you delegated a project effectively.
Give me an example of a time when you used your fact-finding skills to solve a problem.
Amazon Specific Tips:
Review the Amazon Interview Prep page.
Watch this informative Q&A video with Principal Recruiter, Gary Conaway.
Review Amazon’s Leadership Principles. The phone interview will be a behavioral-based question format to learn more about your skills and experience in a way that can tie back to these principles. The Leadership Principles are an integral part of the interview process at Amazon. When you are answering questions about your work experience, use the Leadership Principles to guide your answers. Familiarize yourself with the STAR method of responding to questions as this can help construct your responses as well.
Brainstorm a few anecdotes inspired by the Leadership Principles – complex projects or deliverables, innovative solutions, success stories, difficult situations, etc. Be specific – use metrics, data points, and details to highlight your strengths and achievements.
Conclusion
I hope these tips were helpful as you look for PM roles and begin interviewing for PM roles. The next post in this series will answer frequently asked questions. Please comment below or submit questions here for a chance to have us answer them in the next post.
Make sure you are subscribed to receive an alert once the post is shared! There will be an opportunity in the last series to connect with Amazon recruiters from teams including Prime Video, Advertising, Amazon Music, and IMDb!
Opportunities and Upcoming Events for Product Management at Amazon
Feel free to join a live webinar on June 25, 2020 with IMDb TV Leaders. You will learn more about the exciting things IMDb TV has been working on, get a glimpse into a typical day of our Software Engineering and Product Managers, and learn how they impact the creation of Amazon products.
If you would like to to join, please register here.
I hope this has been helpful as you explore PM and PMT opportunities. Included below are open roles on Bret’s team (pretty cool things happening in that world)!
If you would like to include any information included in this blog please reach out to Angelina Howard.