In this presentation Google Product Manager Neha Bansal will be sharing her secrets on how to position oneself for a Product Manager role without an engineering degree and how to successfully pass a job interview for a PM position.

1. www.productschool.com
How to Prepare For a Product
Manager Interview by Google PM

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8. TONIGHT’S SPEAKER
Neha Bansal

9. Product Management:
It’s not that scary!
Presenter: Neha Bansal

10. Disclaimer
All opinions shared here are my personal and Google is not responsible for
anything I say/ share.

11. Who am I?
Siliguri
Grew up in this hill
station in the foothills of
the Himalayas

12. Who am I?
Delhi
LSR (Delhi University):
Undergrad in
Economics and
Statistics

13. Who am I?
NYC, Shanghai, Johannesburg,
London and Toronto
Management Consulting, Essex Lake

14. Who am I?
New York
MBA, Columbia University

15. Who am I?
Mountain View
Product Manager, Google

16. Steps towards becoming a PM
Make up your mind
(Yep, it’s not an easy job)
Apply for the
role
Get through the
interviews

17. Steps towards becoming a PM
Make up your mind
(Yep, it’s not an easy job)
Apply for the
role
Get through the
interviews

18. What is being a Product Manager like?

19. Skills of a good Product Manager
Understands the
user
Can communicate well,
cross-functionally
Can prioritize ruthlessly
Note that engineering skills is not in the list..in fact it is a distraction!

20. Steps towards becoming a PM
Make up your mind
(Yep, it’s not an easy job)
Apply for the
role
Get through the
interviews

21. Preparation before applying for PM positions
Apply through an
employee referral
Build a PM specific
resume
(PM internships, 20%
projects)
Learn to code
(know enough to be
able to think like an
engineer)

22. Steps towards becoming a PM
Make up your mind
(Yep, it’s not an easy job)
Apply for the
role
Get through the
interviews

23. How I prepared for the Google PM interviews
Help interviewer
succeed
(Answer in 3
bullets, modify
talking speed etc.)
Do lots of mock
interviews
(Including consulting
style case prep)
Write down your
answers to potential
interview questions
(like, literally)
Above all, smile :)

24. Interview demo: Design questions
Let’s do this with a demo: ANY VOLUNTEERS?
● What products could you make using the self-driving car technology?
● Choose one product and walk me through the design process
EVERYONE ELSE: Please take notes of what you think went well or can improve.

25. Interview demo: Design questions
My approach:
● Repeat the given scenario to ensure I understood it correctly
● Lay out the end-to-end approach upfront (usually based on design
frameworks as CIRCLE or RICE)
● Go through each step by diving into the right amount of detail
● Create a real persona while thinking of pain points
● Use assumptions to narrow the problem scope

26. CIRCLE Framework RICE Framework
C = Comprehend Situation
I = Identify customers (personas)
R = Report customer needs
C= Cut, through prioritization
L= List solutions
E= Evaluate trade-offs
R = Reach
I = Impact
C = Confidence
E= Effort

27. www.productschool.com
Part-time Product Management, Coding, Data, Digital
Marketing and Blockchain courses in San Francisco, Silicon
Valley, New York, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston,
Boulder, Chicago, Denver, Orange County, Seattle, Bellevue,
Toronto, London and Online