In the final round of your Product Manager interview, you will be expected to prepare a short presentation walking the interviewer through a product strategy you developed and are proud of. Before diving into your preparation, give yourself a pat on the back for making it this far in the interview process! Carry this boost of confidence with you into your presentation to win the Product Manager job of your dreams.
For this podcast, we asked Tony Rudeen, Director of Product Management at Dutchie to help us navigate a standard Product Manager presentation. Listen along as we break down what you need to know about the Product Manager interview presentations.
What Is the Interviewer Looking For?
Please prepare a short presentation that will walk us through a product strategy you developed that you are particularly proud of.
Your Product Manager interview presentation should include the following:
- The problem you are trying to solve or opportunity you are seizing
- The way it fits into the organization’s mission, goals, or KPI’s
- Explain where the strategy originated and why you’re proud of it
- Explain a key design decision that positively impacted the product
- Share an example of a technical challenge, roadblock, or constraint that influenced the product
- Highlight your role on the team and your contribution
- Reflect on what went well and what you learned from the process
- If possible, share screenshots or a demo
While the information you provide in your presentation is tremendously important, the company is not solely concerned about the data. They are evaluating your ability to give a presentation that is part strategy and part execution. You want to show the team you can communicate effectively by familiarizing and explaining your concepts to people who may know nothing about your project.
The presentation is not just about your accomplishments and achievements, it is about how you are able to communicate them to others.
Product Manager Presentation Interview Step 1: Choosing the Problem
Most business problems fall into one of two buckets: growing revenue or cutting costs. Saving time is another attractive problem to solve. These are the most macro-level business problems and, whether you have a product management background or not, you likely have experience in contributing solutions.
Presenting a problem you have solved related to growing revenue may be slightly more attractive than problems of cutting costs because there is no real cap on growth. For example, you can only cut costs so low while still running a business and selling a product. You will never be able to cut costs down to zero. However, you can grow your revenue far beyond any foreseeable limit or goal the company has set. There is more opportunity to exceed expectations when you are talking about growing revenue.
You want to show the interviewers how you can find a problem and portray a solution while also meeting metrics and company goals.
Interview Presentation Step 2: Presenting the Solution
Every company has a unique mission and focused set of goals or KPI’s. Your goal metrics will vary depending on your industry and your function within the company. It’s important to present metrics that line up with the problem you are solving.
Even without a technical background, you can explain a key design decision that positively impacted the product. The easiest answers are UX-related. Small, incremental changes greatly affect the metrics over time and are a great example to give in your presentation. If you do have a technical background, you can also give a more technical design perspective.
Interview Presentation Step 3: Highlighting a Roadblock You Overcame
One of the key aspects of your Product Manager interview presentation is sharing a challenge or roadblock you overcame that influenced the product. For example, a time when you presented the solution to a stakeholder and they completely rejected the idea. Explain how you were able to work with the stakeholder to find a solution that works for them. Identifying what didn’t work well in your last project and acknowledging it in your presentation shows the interviewer you can learn from your mistakes and will apply what you learned to your next product.
Win the Product Manager Presentation Interview
For more interview tips and presentation preparation, schedule a free coaching call with a Product Gym career coach. Together we can identify your strengths and highlight your skills to help you land your Product Manager dream job.
