Gayle Laakmann

CLRS' famous algorithms textbook He could describe in detail the myriad

The cells above have lots of stories, but what you want to master is five key stories that best represent why you’re a great PM candidate.

Are you creative?
Are you well liked within your company?
Are you good at building teams and energizing people?
Are you understanding and empathetic?
Are you a good leader?
Are you analytical?
Are you determined and ambitious?
Are you a risk taker?
Are you good at minimizing risk?
Are you technical?
Are you good at influencing others?

Gathering data to support your conclusion.
Understanding and addressing people’s underlying motivations or incentives.
Developing support from key team members first and then leveraging that to get other people on your side.
Showing your own vulnerability to encourage others to show theirs.
Being a good role model or example.
Gradually leading people to a conclusion by agreeing on a common framework first.
Developing credibility and engendering trust

Describe a decision you made that wasn’t popular. How did you handle implementing it?
Describe a time when you had to motivate employees or coworkers.
Tell me about a time when you showed initiative.
Tell me about a time when you had to give a presentation to people who disagreed with you.
Tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision.
Tell me about a time when you had to sell another person or team on your idea

Ethical dilemmas.
Conflicting incentives.
Insufficient resources (time, money, expertise).
Incomplete or inaccurate information.
Low morale, interpersonal issues, or other emotional problems (with teammates or the team as a whole).
Cultural or workstyle conflicts.
Changing demands.
Inability to accomplish a task or meet expectations.

Some common tactics include:

Gathering data to decide what to do.
Leveraging the support and expertise of people around you.
Discussing and setting team priorities.
Understanding the emotions of those around you.
Thinking about what the “right” thing to do is (based on ethics, what’s best for the customer, etc).
Breaking down the situation, focusing on what you know, and understanding more about what you know.
Mitigating risk.
Being honest and straightforward.
Solving the problem creatively or thinking outside the box.
Compromising.
Balancing short-term and long-term tradeoffs.
Managing the expectations of coworkers and customers.

Tell me about a time when you made a mistake.
Tell me about a time when you failed.
Tell me about a time when you improperly analyzed a situation.
Tell me about a time when you were disappointed with yourself.
Tell me about a time when you were unable to juggle all your responsibilities.

The product question is the heart and soul of the PM interview. It directly gets at what a PM does: design, build, and improve products.
These questions come in three common forms:

How would you design _________? For example, you might be asked to design an alarm clock for the blind.
What would you improve about ____________?
What’s your favorite product and why?

tep 2: Provide a structure
Interviewers are looking for structured thinking. The easiest way to show this is to give a structured answer and call out which part of the structure you’re on. For example, you might say something like, “First I’m going to talk about the goals. Then, I’m going to list out some potential features. Finally, I’m going to evaluate each of those features against the goals. Okay, so starting with the goals...”.