A. The Interview Method
The process takes four to eight weeks. The general steps are as follows:
- A quick phone screen with a recruiter.
- One or two phone interviews with PMs
- 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)
- Name some products which you like or dislike? Suggest some changes.
- 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)
- How much is the expenditure on gasoline in the United States each year?
- 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:
- Get to know Google
- Refresh your knowledge of product fundamentals
- Practice with mock interviews