Live Product Manager Interview: Slack

Summary

In this PM lesson live mock interview, Sid and Steven explore product management roles and the challenges of breaking into the field. Steven shares his background, including experiences at a startup and a business intelligence firm. They discuss his favorite product, Slack, highlighting its notification system, onboarding process, and developer community. The conversation delves into potential improvements for Slack, emphasizing the need for better inter-organizational communication and idea management. The session concludes with feedback on interview techniques and the importance of understanding product roadmaps and prioritization.

Takeaways

• 😀 The interviewee, a rising junior at Vanderbilt, has experience at a seed-stage startup and a business intelligence firm, MicroStrategy, reflecting a diverse background in tech.
• 🚀 The candidate aspires to product management to oversee the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to sales, based on their past experiences.
• 📘 The favorite product discussed is Slack, chosen for its innovative approach to notifications, onboarding new team members, and fostering a strong developer community.
• 🔔 Slack's notification system is praised for reducing spam and ensuring that users are only alerted to high-priority messages, enhancing productivity.
• 📚 The interviewee appreciates Slack's channel-based system for its ability to help new members quickly get up to speed with the team's past discussions and ongoing projects.
• 💡 The interviewee suggests Slack could improve by facilitating better decision-making processes, possibly by implementing a feature that allows for more thoughtful, less ephemeral idea discussions.
• 🤔 The candidate proposes a system similar to Jeff Bezos' approach of written memos and comment periods for new ideas, to ensure thorough consideration before decisions are made.
• 🔄 The interviewee identifies a need for Slack to enhance inter-organizational communication to expand its network effects and user base beyond individual organizations.
• 🛠️ The interviewee suggests that Slack should focus on features that address pain points for businesses, such as improving the onboarding process for new employees to save companies money.
• 📉 The candidate highlights the importance of high-priority notifications in maintaining user trust in a platform, drawing a contrast with platforms that overuse notifications.
• 🔑 The interview concludes with advice on interview techniques, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, pausing to consider responses, and being aware of the interviewer's engagement.

Q & A

What is the purpose of the live mock interview session?

The live mock interview session is designed to provide an interactive educational tool for individuals looking to prepare for product management interviews, offering them the opportunity to practice and receive feedback in a simulated interview environment.

What is Sid's educational background mentioned in the interview?

Sid is a current rising junior at Vanderbilt University and has spent previous summers working at a seed-stage startup and a business intelligence firm called MicroStrategy.

What are the key aspects of Slack that Sid appreciates based on the interview?

Sid appreciates Slack's effective notification system, its ability to help new team members get up to speed quickly, and the strong developer community that enhances the product's stickiness.

What is the main challenge Sid sees with Slack's current product management?

Sid identifies the challenge of Slack's difficulty in inter-organizational communication and the lack of network effects between different organizations, which is an area that Slack needs to focus on improving.

What is the idea for improving Slack that Sid suggests during the interview?

Sid suggests an idea for improving Slack's decision-making process by implementing a system where ideas are posted with clear outlines and expected outcomes, allowing team members to comment and vote on them without seeing others' feedback initially, thus reducing influence bias.

What feedback does Steven provide to Sid regarding his answer about Slack?

Steven advises Sid to enumerate his points clearly, speak slower to ensure the interviewer can keep up, and to provide more depth by discussing high-order topics related to Slack's features and philosophy.

Why does Steven suggest that Sid should have mentioned competitors to Slack during the interview?

Steven suggests mentioning competitors to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the market and to be prepared to answer questions about why Slack is superior to other communication platforms.

What is the recommended approach for building a product roadmap according to the discussion?

The recommended approach includes understanding the product vision and goals, validating assumptions with short-term features, and planning for long-term features that align with the product's overall objectives.

What is the advice given for handling the timing of responses during an interview?

The advice given is to ensure not to speak for more than two minutes without acknowledgment from the interviewer, and to use passive or active checks to confirm if the interviewer is ready for the candidate to move on to the next point.

What is the significance of the 'PM lesson comm' mentioned in the script?

PM lesson comm is a resource mentioned for those preparing for PM interviews, offering free course information, community access, and direct access to former Google PMs for additional insights and practice.

What is the final advice given to Sid about his interview performance?

The final advice given to Sid is that he did a great job overall, but to focus on providing a higher-level perspective before diving into specific product features, ensuring he impresses the interviewer with his product insights and vision.