What should one expect in a product manager interview at Google, and how should he/she prepare?

Product & Design
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#1

A. The Interview Method
The process takes four to eight weeks. The general steps are as follows:

  1. A quick phone screen with a recruiter.
  2. One or two phone interviews with PMs
  3. Four to six rounds of onsite interviews (or virtual onsite rounds)

B. Interview questions for Google PM

Based on what 400+ Google candidates have reported on Glassdoor, you can expect the types of questions listed below.

• Design concerns (32 percent of reported questions)

  1. Name some products which you like or dislike? Suggest some changes.
  2. Describe how you would design X product for Y people.

• Issues of strategy (18 percent of reported questions)
You are the CEO of corporation X. What new products would you introduce, and why would you do so?
Tell me about a competitive move made by a company in the last six months and what you think of it.

• Estimation questions (15 percent of reported questions)

  1. How much is the expenditure on gasoline in the United States each year?
  2. How much is the running cost of YouTube for a day? What is the expected sum that Youtube makes in a day?

C. Preparation hints and resources
Now that you’ve seen the questions, you need to figure out how to prepare for them. These are some ways to address this issue:

  1. Get to know Google
  2. Refresh your knowledge of product fundamentals
  3. Practice with mock interviews