PM Interview Prep

The shocking truth behind PM interview prep

It is odd to me that Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) students (MBAs) are using interview prep services like exponent to get hired at FAANG companies. See these four videos:

Facebook PM interview prep

LinkedIn PM Interview Prep

Flipkart PM Interview Prep

Google PM interview prep

I’m seeing a lot of companies in India also train PMs and engineers for interviews.

See:

1. tryexponent.com at $17/mo

2. Upraised.co at 20,000 INR to 1,25,000 INR depending on what you want

3. Educated.io at $9.99/mo

4. Ton of individual and pro bono Interview prep on LinkedIn

5. Upgrad.com

6. Product School

This just goes to show that even the most prestigious college graduates are spending money to land a high paying, highly interesting job. I think exponent is really cheap at $17/mo and I would happily spend this money if I had a PM interview in my future.

What I loved about exponent was that they have PM interview prep for various companies. You can learn how to ace the Google PM interview or the Facebook PM interview, etc.

https://www.tryexponent.com/courses

So, what does this mean to me as a hiring manager?

It means that I need to get smarter at hiring and not get gamed. I think most hiring managers think that they can’t be gamed. Maybe that’s our biggest blind spot.

I have been watching a lot of these interviews so that I can learn about the standard answers to standard questions. But, some of the answers are truly great and shockingly well thought through. I do not know how many of these interviews are staged. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are.

I think being a PM is aiming too low.

Especially when you are young and restless. Too many people want to be PMs. I get why but I also think business schools largely train you to be good employees rather than entrepreneurs that generate employment.

So, no wonder then that fresh grads are using whatever tools they can to land a plum job rather. You should too.

—Anubhav