Mock Behavioral Product Manager Interview for Candidates with NO Experience

Summary

Elisa conducts a mock interview for an Assistant Product Manager (APM) role, portraying a candidate without prior product experience. She emphasizes the importance of showcasing raw potential and understanding of product management. The video demonstrates how to effectively answer behavioral questions using the Nugget plus SAR methodology and discusses the value of research and self-study in preparing for a product role. Elisa also highlights the significance of aligning product solutions with company strategy and goals, and stresses the importance of communication and problem-solving skills.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video is a mock interview for an ATM (Assistant Product Manager) role, featuring a candidate with no prior product experience.
• 🎓 The candidate's background includes a major in Management Information Systems and work in a consulting firm, which provided foundational skills for product management.
• 🏆 The candidate engaged in case competitions during college, which honed problem-solving and communication skills relevant to product management.
• 🔍 The candidate has been proactive in learning about product management through books, podcasts, newsletters, and certifications to compensate for the lack of direct experience.
• 💡 The interview includes a behavioral question using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) methodology, which is crucial for structuring responses effectively.
• 🤝 The candidate emphasizes teamwork and leadership in their past experiences, which are transferable skills for product management.
• 🍇 The candidate discusses a personal project related to wine selection, demonstrating an ability to identify user problems and consider solutions, a key product management skill.
• 📊 The candidate understands the importance of aligning product solutions with company strategy and considering the competitive landscape.
• 🗣️ The candidate highlights the need for strong communication and problem-solving skills in product management, skills they have developed through education and work.
• 🚀 The video concludes with advice on preparing for interviews, emphasizing the importance of research and practicing behavioral interview responses.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video presented in the script?

The main purpose of the video is to demonstrate a mock interview for an ATM (Assistant Product Manager) role, specifically for candidates with no prior product experience. It aims to help such candidates understand how to approach interviews for product roles.

Why does the candidate in the mock interview not have prior product experience?

The candidate is portrayed as someone in their first job out of college, working in a consulting firm, which is similar to the video creator's own experience when interviewing for their first product role.

What is the Nugget plus SAR methodology mentioned in the script?

The Nugget plus SAR methodology is an interview response technique where 'SAR' stands for Situation, Action, and Result. It helps candidates provide concise and structured answers to behavioral interview questions.

What does the interviewer look for in an inexperienced candidate during a product management interview?

The interviewer looks for a track record of successful delivery, teamwork skills, quick learning ability, understanding of product management, and evidence of self-driven learning and skill development in product management.

What is the significance of the case competition mentioned in the script?

The case competition is significant as it demonstrates the candidate's ability to lead a project, solve problems, and communicate effectively, which are valuable skills for a product management role.

Why does the candidate mention their experience with IT audits in the consulting firm?

The candidate mentions IT audit experience to highlight their ability to engage with clients, communicate with executives, and understand business processes, which are transferable skills for product management.

What does the candidate do to demonstrate their interest and preparation for a product management role?

The candidate demonstrates their interest and preparation by reading books, listening to podcasts, subscribing to newsletters, taking courses like Pragmatic Marketing and Scrum Master certification, and doing mock problem-solving exercises.

Why does the candidate choose Vivino as an example of a product they admire?

The candidate chooses Vivino because it effectively solves the problem of selecting good wine by providing customer reviews and information quickly and frictionlessly, which aligns with their interest in product management.

What does the candidate believe are the key skills a product manager should have?

The candidate believes that key skills for a product manager include understanding customer problems, working with cross-functional teams, having a strong grasp of company strategy, and being a strong communicator, problem solver, and leader without authority.

What advice does the video give to candidates preparing for a product management interview?

The video advises candidates to do thorough research, prepare stories for behavioral interviews, and use the Nugget plus SAR methodology for structured responses. It also emphasizes the importance of showcasing raw potential and understanding of product management.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Mock Interview for Product Role

Elisa introduces a mock interview video for an ATM role, emphasizing the unique perspective of a candidate without prior product experience. She highlights the challenges faced by newcomers in product management interviews, where experienced candidates often discuss past projects and team interactions. Elisa, playing the candidate, shares her background, including her first job post-college at a consulting firm, similar to her own initial steps in product management. She outlines the structure of the interview, including a behavioral question using the SAR methodology, and discusses what interviewers seek in inexperienced candidates: a track record of successful delivery, teamwork, quick learning, and understanding of product management.

05:00

📊 Airtable's 2022 Product Insights Report Sponsorship

The video features a sponsorship by Airtable, which recently released its 2022 Product Insights Report. The report, based on a survey of 700 product professionals, reveals that 58% of product team members lack a good understanding of their company's product vision, affecting autonomy and engagement. It suggests that increased engagement and autonomy lead to better product delivery and meeting company goals. The report is recommended for its insights on improving team performance, with links to access it and Airtable's social media provided for further insights.

10:03

🌟 Candidate's Background and Interest in Product Management

The candidate discusses her academic background in Management Information Systems from the University of Minnesota, which blended business and technology courses, including coding and strategy. She shares her experience with case competitions that honed her problem-solving and communication skills. Post-graduation, she joined a consulting firm, where she primarily focused on IT audit work, interacting with company executives and auditing processes. This role developed her client engagement and communication skills but left her desiring more problem-solving challenges. She expresses her growing interest in product management, driven by self-study through books, podcasts, and certifications, aiming to bridge her past experiences with a future product management role.

15:04

🏆 Leading a Case Competition to Solve Employee Engagement

The candidate describes leading a case competition team tasked with improving employee engagement at a company. The team aimed to understand the root causes of low morale and high attrition, conducting hypothetical surveys and manager interviews based on assumptions about employee dissatisfaction. They proposed solutions like quarterly career conversations, standardized questions for managers, and regular engagement surveys. The candidate's role involved project management, team coordination, and presenting findings, which led to winning the competition and the company's interest in implementing their recommendations.

20:05

🍇 Product Appreciation and Aspirations in Product Management

The candidate shares her admiration for the Vivino app, which solves the problem of selecting good wine by providing customer reviews and tasting notes through a simple photo of the wine label. She appreciates the app's frictionless user experience and how it inspires her as an aspiring product manager. The conversation shifts to her understanding of the product manager role, emphasizing the need for customer problem understanding, strategic alignment, and cross-functional collaboration. She expresses her readiness to apply her skills and passion for product management, seeking to grow within the field.

25:07

🔍 Conclusion and Advice for Aspiring Product Managers

Elisa concludes the mock interview with advice for candidates without product experience, emphasizing the importance of research and preparation to demonstrate potential in interviews. She suggests having prepared stories for behavioral questions and recommends the SAR methodology for clear storytelling. The video aims to help viewers understand how to present themselves effectively for a product management role, even with limited direct experience.

Keywords

💡Product Management

Product Management refers to the process of guiding a product from its inception to the market with the goal of satisfying user needs and achieving business objectives. In the video, the candidate expresses interest in transitioning into a Product Manager role, highlighting the need to understand customer problems and work with engineering and design teams to develop solutions. The candidate's past experiences, such as case competitions and IT auditing, are framed as foundational for the skills required in product management, such as problem-solving and communication.

💡Mock Interview

A mock interview is a simulated job interview conducted to help candidates practice and prepare for real interviews. The video script describes a mock interview for an entry-level Product Manager role, emphasizing the importance of showcasing transferable skills and demonstrating understanding of product management concepts, even without direct product experience.

💡Situation, Action, and Result (SAR)

SAR is a methodology for structuring responses to behavioral interview questions. It involves describing a relevant situation, the actions taken, and the results achieved. The video mentions the use of the SAR methodology as a way to provide concise and easy-to-follow answers during interviews, which helps interviewers understand a candidate's experiences and capabilities.

💡Case Competitions

Case competitions are events where participants, usually students, work in teams to develop solutions for a business problem presented by a company. In the script, the candidate mentions participating in case competitions as a student, which required problem-solving and communication skills. These experiences are highlighted as precursors to the types of challenges faced in product management.

💡IT Auditing

IT auditing involves evaluating the effectiveness of an organization's IT controls and processes. The candidate discusses their role as an IT auditor, which involved engaging with company executives, understanding processes, and testing controls. This experience is relevant to product management as it demonstrates the ability to interact with stakeholders and assess systems, which are valuable in product development and strategy.

💡Project Lead

A Project Lead is a role often taken by a team member who oversees the planning, execution, and completion of a project. The candidate describes their experience as a Project Lead in a case competition, which involved managing the team, delegating tasks, and ensuring the project's success. This showcases leadership and organizational skills that are critical for a Product Manager.

💡Employee Engagement

Employee engagement refers to the extent to which employees are committed to their work and actively involved in their roles. The candidate discusses a case competition project focused on solving an employee engagement problem, which is a common issue in product management as it involves understanding user needs and improving experiences.

💡Vivino

Vivino is a mobile app that allows users to identify wines, read reviews, and discover new products by scanning wine labels. The candidate uses Vivino as an example of a product that solves a personal problem in a frictionless way, demonstrating an appreciation for well-designed products and an understanding of user experience, which are key aspects of product management.

💡Lead without Authority

Leading without authority is the ability to guide and influence a team towards achieving goals without having a formal hierarchical position over them. The candidate mentions the need for this skill in product management, reflecting the collaborative and cross-functional nature of the role, which often requires influencing rather than directing.

💡Product Strategy

Product strategy involves defining the vision, goals, and direction for a product or product line. The candidate acknowledges the importance of understanding company strategy and aligning product solutions accordingly, which is a core responsibility of a Product Manager and critical for the success of a product in the market.

Highlights

Elisa conducts a mock interview for an ATM role, emphasizing the candidate's lack of prior product experience.

The video is designed to assist those breaking into product management for the first time.

Elisa plays a candidate with a background in consulting, similar to her own initial experience.

The interview includes a behavioral question using the Nugget plus SAR methodology.

Interviewers are aware of the candidate's lack of product experience and look for raw potential.

Elisa discusses what interviewers seek in inexperienced candidates, such as a track record of delivery and quick learning ability.

The candidate explains their interest in product management and how past experiences could translate into the role.

The candidate shares their educational background, focusing on a major that blends business and technology.

Case competitions are highlighted as valuable for developing problem-solving and communication skills.

The candidate's role as an IT auditor is discussed, emphasizing client engagement and communication.

The candidate's self-directed learning efforts in product management are outlined, including courses and certifications.

A detailed account of a case competition project is provided, demonstrating leadership and problem-solving.

The candidate describes their role in the team, including project management and morale boosting.

The interview concludes with a discussion on the candidate's understanding of the product manager role and fit for the position.

Elisa provides closing remarks, emphasizing the importance of preparation and showcasing raw potential in interviews.

The video ends with a call to action for viewers to subscribe and engage with the content.

Transcripts

let's do this

hey everyone Elisa here and in this

video I am going to show you a mock

interview for an ATM role and what's

special about this video is I am going

to be a candidate that has no prior

product experience I really wanted to

make this video because well a lot of

people seem interested in seeing how

they might actually interview for a

product role if they don't have any

product experience because a lot of

people see mock interviews for product

roles and you know candidates will be

able to talk about maybe different

features they delivered or experiences

with Engineers or designers and if

you're trying to break into product

management for the first time

it's going to be harder for you to speak

to any of those types of experiences

during your interview so I'm really

excited to make this video because I

think it can help a lot of people

actually get that first product role so

in this video I am going to play a

candidate that is in their first job out

of college uh this candidate Works in a

consulting firm which is what I did out

of college and kind of was the position

I was in when I was interviewing for my

first product role now there's a couple

things I want to point out about the

interview before we actually dive in so

first of all

there will be one behavioral interview

question that uses the Nugget plus SAR

methodology SARS standing for situation

action and result

if you're not familiar with that

methodology I highly recommend that you

check out some of my other interview

videos where I go more in detail about

what that style of answering a question

is like it's something that really helps

you just have concise easy to follow

answers so that's the first thing I want

to let you know about uh the second

thing I want to call out before I dive

into the interview is that

if you're interviewing for a role and

you don't have product experience

your interviewer knows that they've seen

your resume they know you don't have

product experience but they are hopeful

that you have the raw materials to

become a really great product manager

and the last thing I want to call out

before we go into the interview is I

want to talk through what an interviewer

is actually looking for when they're

interviewing an inexperienced candidate

so when I'm interviewing an

inexperienced candidate and trying to

find some raw potential I look for

things like do they have a track record

of delivering something successfully do

they work well in a team are they a

quick learner and do they understand

what product management is have they

done some research into the role do they

actively try to learn up on product

management and polish their product

skills even though they don't have

formal experience so in this mock

interview you'll see the interviewer ask

questions that really try to get the

candidate to talk through uh their

experiences that could be related to

product management and I as a candidate

will try to talk through as much as

possible about why I'm also interested

in product management and how my past

experiences could translate into a

product manager role so let's dive into

the interview shall we

before we dive into the mock interview I

want to take a moment to talk about the

sponsor of today's video which is

airtable now airtable recently came out

with their 2022 product insights report

and it is fascinating so airtable

surveyed 700 product professionals

ranging from ICS all the way to

Executives and these product

professionals work on a variety of

products from physical to digital and

from B2B to B to C and the findings were

pretty incredible first of all the

report shows you that 58 of product team

members don't feel like they have a good

understanding of their company's product

vision

which is not great

and if people don't understand their

company's Vision then it's almost

impossible for them to have autonomy

when they're creating their product

roadmaps and if people don't have

autonomy that's especially bad because

autonomy leads to more engagement from

product team members and product team

members are 17 times more likely to ship

products on time when they're engaged so

no autonomy is not great for shipping

product in fact only 29 of respondents

said they were hitting their goals and

the report finds that the way that you

improve that you get more people to hit

their goals is by improving engagement

and autonomy within your teams so this

report is fascinating it has a bunch of

great insights on how you can improve

autonomy and engagement within your team

so that you can actually ship products

more effectively and reach your company

goals so check out this report the link

to the report is in the description box

below also check out airtable on Twitter

and LinkedIn because they have a ton of

great insights that they share for free

which is pretty awesome so check out the

report share it with your team learn how

to become more engaged and more

autonomous so that you can ship product

better and also check out airtable on

Twitter and Linkedin thanks for

listening and now let's dive into the

mock interview

foreign nice to meet you so before we

dive into the interview I love it if you

could tell me a bit about yourself and

your experiences

absolutely and uh it's nice to meet you

as well so I am still working in my

first job out of college so I'll briefly

touch on my education experience and

then we'll also tell you about what I

currently do at the consulting firm at

which I work as well as why I'm

interested in becoming a product manager

so I went to school at the University of

Minnesota and I majored in Mis and that

major is in the business school and kind

of Blends together business and

technology so in my course load I had

coding courses and database courses as

well as strategy courses management

courses and I even had a business

analyst class which although I didn't

know it at the time was a really good

foundation for product management

while I was in school I also enjoyed

entering case competitions so in case

competitions a company would generally

come to our school tell us about a

problem they're experiencing or about an

initiative they'd love to kick off and

then groups of students would get

together and put together different

proposals for how the problem could be

solved or how a company should go about

a certain initiative I really enjoyed

doing these as they required a lot of

problem solving skills and communication

skills which are both things I truly

enjoy so right out of school then I got

a job at a consulting firm which I was

interested in doing because I just

wasn't sure what type of Industry I

wanted to be in or what type of company

was going to be a right fit for me so I

started at this consulting firm and

after a few months at the firm I started

doing more and more I.T audit work and

that was kind of a result of

sarbanes-oxley which required a lot more

I.T controls at companies

so as an I.T auditor I go to different

companies I oftentimes speak with

Executives understand what their

processes are like and if we are serving

in an internal auditing capacity we

start to understand why they want our

assistance with it auditing once we do

the kickoff I generally speak with a lot

of people within the company learn their

processes figure out what controls they

have in place and test those controls to

make sure they're in place effectively

and then I will write up a bit of a

report and present findings back to

executives

so while this job has taught me a lot

about how to engage with clients and how

to communicate with executives

I find myself missing a lot of the

problem solving skills that I got to

flex on a bit more when I was a student

so as I've been kind of looking at

different career opportunities and

options that I have in front of me I've

become more and more interested in the

product management role so I've read a

few books about product management and

listen to podcasts subscribe to

newsletters all that good stuff and also

I've taken a pragmatic marketing course

as well as a scrum Master certification

so that I can you know know how to

effectively work in an agile environment

with engineers and designers

um in order to also grow my product

skills I've been kind of doing some mock

problem solving and product management

on my own time so when I do this I try

to think of products that I use every

day figure out problems that I have with

the product and then think through

different solutions that could be

implemented that would solve my problem

um and as I've been doing this I've

started to grow such an appreciation too

for some great products out there that

really seamlessly solve my problem and

uh do it in a way that's really

frictionless for end users

so that's a little bit about myself and

uh my career Journey thus far so pretty

much every interview has that tell me

about yourself question this is a great

time for you to not only speak to your

experience but to also talk about uh

what you've learned about product

management and how you feel like your

experience translates into a product

management role you can also bring up

any certifications or courses

newsletters YouTube videos Etc that you

have studied to learn more about product

management so this next question is a

question that I actually ask in most of

my behavioral interviews for a product

manager regardless of what their

experience level is but in this video

specifically you'll see the interviewer

cater it to a candidate that wouldn't

have very formal product experience so

rather than asking about a feature that

they've delivered successfully the

interviewer might ask about maybe a

project that you've been a part of where

you delivered something successfully

yeah great thank you for

um you know walking me through uh your

experience and your background

um I'd love to hear more about a prag

project that you've either LED or

um been a significant contributor to and

tell me everything from when the project

started all the way to the uh end result

definitely

um so I'll tell you about a specific

case competition that I was a part of in

college where I was effectively the

Project Lead and we were tasked with

solving an employee engagement problem

at a company

so at the beginning of the case

competition a company came on site at

our campus and told us about a problem

that they're experiencing with Employee

Engagement so more specifically there

were challenges with employee morale uh

people seemed a little bit disengaged at

work and didn't seem as excited to be in

their positions so once we got this

prompt we were able to ask clarifying

questions which I felt was really

important because we really wanted to

understand more specifically what

problems were being experienced and why

it was so important for us to solve

those problems at the company

so I think the question that gave us the

most information

um was why is it important for you to

raise employee morale so when we asked

that question to the company leaders who

were on site with us

um they told us that they actually had a

nutrition problem as of late and it has

become really expensive for them to

continue finding new talent and that's

more expensive obviously than just

keeping your existing talent and keeping

those people really engaged and excited

to be at work

so once we got the prompt and

um we're able to ask our questions

my team huddled and we listed out

different problems that we wanted to

solve so first of all

we wanted to understand why employees

were feeling unfulfilled at work or just

disengaged in general

and then another problem we wanted to

solve was the fact that attrition was

really high which was expensive for the

company

so my team went to work and we started

thinking through various different

solutions again one of the first

problems we identified was that it was

unclear why employees felt low morale

and so we recommended first off that

there be some employee surveys to

understand

why employees were feeling the way that

they were feeling and we also put

together a set of questions that

managers could ask their team members so

that you know managers could also get

another data point on what was causing

this low morale at work

um because we couldn't actually get

results of those surveys or question

errors uh during the course of this case

competition we made a few assumptions

and then used those assumptions to kind

of guide us uh on different solutions so

our assumptions of what employees might

possibly list out as reasons for low

morale where

um you know they don't feel like they

could move up in their role

um they don't feel appreciated by either

their managers or by leadership and they

felt really burnt out

so once we had made those assumptions we

came up with different solutions that

could solve the employee morale issues

the solutions included formalized ways

for managers to recognize their

employees uh quarterly career

conversations that were specifically not

performance reviews but rather

conversations where managers would want

to see like how people want to grow in

their careers

and then a standardized set of questions

for managers to ask their team to get a

pulse on whether different team members

were feeling burnt out

um lastly we recommended quarterly

surveys that would be sent out to

employees to track progress of you know

Employee Engagement and track the impact

of this initiative

so once we had our recommendations all

together we put together a deck and a

formal write-up and we presented our

ideas to the company leaders who are on

site with us we ended up winning the

case competition which was of course

exciting

um and although I don't have full

details about what specifically was

implemented at the company or what the

end results were I do know about the

company was very interested in

implementing a lot of what we

recommended so

um that's kind of a story of a project

that I was leading

um all the way from the start to the end

yeah it's great uh thanks for sharing

that and it does sound like you were

working within a team of people

um what would you say your role was

um on that team

yeah it's a great question so there were

five of us on that team

um and I'd say myself and one other

woman kind of took the Project Lead

positions within the group

um meaning we managed and or we project

managed and kind of delegated work out

to other team members so we had one

person specifically take on uh research

like research about Employee Engagement

and burnout and those types of things

um another person was responsible for

the write-up uh we had a third person

who was responsible for the

communication back and forth between

ourselves and the company leaders

um and then I also was responsible for

putting together the deck and I took on

a lot of the project management

um of the case competition in general so

we had 24 hours to get things done so

required a lot of project management

keeping people on top of their work kind

of tracking goals at certain times so

that we weren't falling behind

um and I also found myself in kind of a

morale boosting role too so

um you know I really enjoy working in a

positive environment and so I got pizza

for the team at one point and made sure

we had breaks throughout the 24-hour

period so that we could just kind of

relax a bit have some fun uh before kind

of diving back into the work

yeah no it sounds like fun so that was a

good end-to-end behavioral interview

question now in a lot of these types of

product interviews an interviewer will

also ask about what one of your favorite

products is and why or they may ask

something like tell me about a product

you use and a problem you experience and

how you would solve you know that

problem so this next question is

actually something that can be asked no

matter what amount of product experience

you have so you mentioned earlier in our

conversation that you've grown in you

know appreciation for products that

solve customer problems in a in a

frictionless way

um can you tell me about a product that

you really enjoyed at Byron talk me

through the way through the through the

why you like it so much

yeah definitely

um there are a couple Products that come

to mind that I admire because they

skillfully solve a problem for me and

are also problems that I enjoy using so

I'm going to tell you about a product

that is kind of unique it's a product

I've enjoyed using for a couple years

now it's called vivino highly recommend

you check it out if you haven't heard of

it before so uh since becoming an adult

I've come to enjoy having different

types of wine and trying outline from

different regions

um but I have a really hard time picking

out a good wine at a liquor store

because there's tons of different types

of wine and bottles and all the labels

look beautiful and I've also found that

just because wine is more expensive it

doesn't necessarily mean it's a better

bottle of wine so

um I was experiencing this problem where

on multiple occasions I would Splurge

down a bottle of wine and it would not

be my favorite and I felt like it was a

complete waste of money

um but I think the biggest problem for

me was I really enjoy buying wine for

friends especially if they're hosting me

for maybe a dinner or event and I'd get

kind of stressed out because I'd buy

wine but not actually know if it was a

good wine or not I didn't want to be a

rude guest and buy them crappy wine so

um I finally found this app called

vivino where you literally just take a

picture of a wine label and you see

different customer reviews of the wine

you can get information about what the

wine tastes like and you can also see

like the expected price point that you

should expect to pay for that specific

bottle

um I think what's even better and what's

just really impressive about about the

app is it only takes a couple seconds to

actually use the app so all you have to

do is whip it out uh take a picture of

the label and you get all the

information you want there's no extra

steps to go through there's no hassle

it's like a truly frictionless

experience that really well solves my

problem so that's one app that uh I

really enjoy using but also uh you know

kind of inspires me as an aspiring

product manager it's something that

solves a problem well in a really easy

and intuitive way

yeah that sounds like a really cool app

I'll have to try it out at some point

um all right now whenever I've

interviewed someone for an APM role or

you know for any product position where

the candidate doesn't necessarily have

significant product experience

I want to know that they've done their

homework that they understand what

product management is that they're

actually passionate about product

management that this is a career path

that they really do want to follow so I

almost always will ask a question that's

kind of like this one I just have one

more question

um that I want to ask you know how much

do you know about the product manager

role and why do you think it'd be you

would be a

um you know good fit for this type of

position

yeah that's a great question so you know

I've done quite a lot of research into

what a product manager actually does

um you know as I mentioned earlier I've

read a lot of books about product

management listen to podcasts subscribe

to the newsletters all those things

um I know that a product manager is kind

of tasked with understanding customer

problems and then working with

engineering and design to actually build

solutions to those problems

um I also know that product managers

need to have a really good understanding

of company strategy and be able to build

solutions that are in line with company

strategy and take into account

um you know a company's goals as well as

what the competitive landscape looks

like

um product managers have to be strong

communicators good at problem solving

need to be able to lead without

Authority and you know those are things

that I've been able to do so far in my

career and in school and our skills that

I would love to be able to apply more

formally as a product manager

um I you know after doing a lot of this

Research into the product role and kind

of doing my mock problem solving and

um

you know kind of leaning into the

product World in general I really feel

that I have the raw materials to become

a strong product manager and I would

love to be able to grow my product

management skills

um with you and with your team

great well

um you know thanks so much for for

speaking with me and taking the time

um you know we'll be will be for sure uh

letting you know next steps uh within

the next few days or next week so thank

you again

awesome thank you so much for your time

I appreciate it so there you have it

there was a mock interview for an APM

role with a candidate that doesn't have

prior product experience I think the

main takeaways that I want you to have

from this interview are that first of

all the interviewer knows that you don't

have product experience so they're not

going to be expecting you to

talk through features you've delivered

right another thing I want you to take

away is that you can do a lot of

research and studying and preparations

to become a great product manager even

if you haven't had formal product

management experience so there's courses

you can take there's exercises you can

do on your own time to really brush up

on your product skills and if you do

those things before an interview for an

APM role you know you'll be able to

sound like you really do know what

you're talking about and the interviewer

will be able to see how much raw

potential you have the last thing I'd

love you to take away is

interviews like this go so much better

when you prep so have different stories

prepared just as you would for any other

behavioral interview and if you are

asked a pure behavioral interview

question like tell me about a time when

highly recommend that you use that

nugget plus SAR methodology it's just a

great way for you to be able to tell a

really nice concise story that your

interviewer can follow

so there you have it there is your mock

interview I really hope this is helpful

and helps a lot of you land your first

product management role if you like the

video please go ahead and give it a

thumbs up I would really appreciate it

and as always if you want to hear more

please subscribe

thank you again and I will talk to you

next time

bye friends

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