How I'm Preparing for Product Manager Interviews at FAANG
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- 📈 Invest in yourself! Use my link and check out the first chapter of any course for FREE! bit.ly/3dDp9wb
〰️ description 〰️
As you may have heard, I'm going back to the tech industry - hopefully as a Product Manager, or PM.
Without any formal experience in Product Management, I knew that landing a PM job at FAANG wouldn’t be an easy task. So, over the past three months, I’ve been spending my weekends and late nights studying for interviews. In today’s video, I’ll share why I’m try-harding so much and how I’m preparing for the Product Manager interview.
〰️ pm slack groups 〰️
💻 Lewis Lin Slack Community - www.lewis-lin.com/blog/2018/7...
💻 Exponent PM Course (referral link) - www.tryexponent.com/?ref=hars...
〰️ pm prep books 〰️
📙 Cracking the PM Interview - www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-In...
📕 Decode and Conquer - www.amazon.com/Decode-Conquer...
📘 Swipe to Unlock - www.amazon.com/Swipe-Unlock-T...
〰️ timestamps 〰️
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - Who I Am
1:32 - Why I’m Doing This
3:18 - What is the PM Interview Like?
4:28 - Try out DataCamp!
5:19 - How I’m Preparing
5:43 - 1. Master the Fundamentals
6:22 - 2. Self Study
7:04 - 3. Mock Interviews
9:44 - 4. Interview for Real
9:58 - Reflections
11:07 - Conclusion
〰️ connect 〰️
📸 Instagram - / harshibar
💼 LinkedIn - / hyerramreddy
🐦 Twitter - / harshibar
🍳 Cooking RUclips - @souschefharshibar
〰️ setup 〰️
💻 Laptop - amzn.to/3utGIFV
🎥 Camera -amzn.to/3dXDZhx
🎙️ Microphone - amzn.to/3wxTsgt
⌨️ Keyboard - mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/...
🖱️ Mouse - amzn.to/3dERRwR
📱 Icon Pack - gum.co/icons-by-harshibar
〰️ music 〰️
🎧Epidemic Sound - www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
〰️ disclosure 〰️
This video is sponsored by DataCamp.
Some of the above links are affiliate links. Using these links is the best way to support me and my everlasting desire to find that Indian parent approval 🙃
〰️ editing effects 〰️
Stock Video - www.pexels.com/
Devil Wears Prada GIF - tenor.com/view/devil-wears-pr...
Rachel Friends Clip - • Friends - Rachel's int...
Happy Days Clip - • Happy Days Telugu Full...
Spongebob Sponge GIF - tenor.com/view/spongebob-abso...
Miss India Clip - • Miss India | Official ...
Bleep Effect - • Radio/tv Censor "beep"...
#harshibar #pm #faang
👩🏽🍳 hello! i’m making cooking videos now: www.youtube.com/@souschefharshibar
Love to see it! It's definitely not easy but you're clearly well on your way! Can't wait for future content about your first days/weeks/months on the job :)
I come from a marketing background so I leaned towards shifting into product marketing, potentially product management from there. Once i learned what product function was, i tailored my resume, and applied to a couple roles. got 4/5 interviews within a week and a month later i just signed fora product marketing role. Took about 2 months since I learned what product was. All i did was tailor my resume, watch a ton of webinars from product school and other resources, listened to the product book, and then got an offer. Not one mock case interview. Faang is too competitve and stressful, if youre serious about getting into product, just go for startups or other tech companies then work your way into big tech with experience is my advice
Did you have any SDE experience??
@@shreyb885
TLDR: no i had no SDE experience. But I am very interested in programming and sde. Actually, that was my ideal goal to get into. At the time I knew little, now I know a lot more about software, having built my own fullstack web app (from a tutorial) which game me a basic understanding.
I had 10 months of total professional experience. My job at that time was Marketing Specialist. It was an easy job and I wanted to do more. All I was doing was editing videos/webinars for our custom LMS solution as part of the SaaS that I was working at. I also created video ads for online industry conferences where our buyers attended. This was during covid, usually we would be in person, but we had to transition to virtual and I was hired on to help that. Reflecting now two years later, I would say I was a bit lucky. It was the right role and I was the right fit. I joined a startup as a 2nd hire in product marketing. The team and HM really liked me, a lot. As soon as I joined it was acquired by a larger company. I have been working as a PMM the last 2_+ years at this company. I just recently quit to change career directions. Marketing isn't for me. I knew PMM was just a stepping stone for me the entire time, but I also learned that I didn't want to do product management either anymore. I've learned a lot in this role, but was very stressful, long hours. But the team and product/mission was great. It is very competitive today. I would also struggle getting another PMM role today.
Hi Harshi! Out of all the videos, I felt this was the best video out there on YT, as I found it extremely relatable. I am in the same boat myself of transitioning from a tech role to a PM role. This really helped me gather my thoughts and start working on my journey towards becoming a PM. Thank you for that. I wish you all the best for your job search as well. :)
you got this!! good luck :)
thank you!
As a PM all I can suggest is that focus on your strength as a personality towards solving a problem. UX, tech and business if you can combine them all to come up with a great product plan then you will nail all the interviews.
the product buds slack group is also a great resource. first time pm interviews can be so intimidating and I thought you did a get job providing an overview for others who may be interested as well. good luck with all your interviews, harshi!! you got this!!!
This is super helfulp! Thanks for making this video!
Hi Harshita - The Laudable team loves everything about this - the video, the editing, you going back to tech, the content - and we'd love to chat!
Hi there! I’d love to - what’s the best method of contact?
Loved the Telugu movie clips in between. Seamlessly integrated.
You are tallented. Even, I think the big tech companies will looking for you.
Thank you for sharing, very awesome infirmation
Glad it was helpful!
I can really relate to this so much. Im currently a SWE looking at taking a break from the industry or switching to PM
Love your video, just discovered the channel. I’m in the same process, would love to see more video about PM🤞🏻
Wish you the best 💙
heyy, this video popped up first when i searched for PM interview prep. today marks the first day of my PM interview prep. I am a MS in Business Analytics student, from University at Buffalo and a PM role aspirant.
this is great content. Calming.
Omg love this and your hard work is def gonna pay off! Been wanting to leave engineering for more of an analyst role and this was inspiring to watch. Good luck with your interviews!
I would say never leave engineering for an analyst role. Engineers today are valued much much more than an analyst aka. BA or PO or PM. If you seen any FAANG/MAANG companies, all of them will pay 40% more to engineers than functional guys. not to mention that there is huge dependency in technical folks and it results in a lot of respect and lenience from wider senior management. A PO cannot have an iota of a tantrum while an architect and can do unreasonable tantrums whole day and still whatever he/she blabbers will be taken as sacrosanct truth coming right from a prophets mouth. So be wise and play your card. I am a Product Owner with 12 years of hard core IT experience but still thinking of moving to technical stream.
I’m applying too! Good luck to you :)
Good luck!!
Good luck! 👍🏽🤩
Really solid content! Currently finishing up my PM Internship and getting ready for New Grad PM interview season, wish me luck!
Good luck!!
All the best ! Would be great if u post ur mock interview videos as well ❤️
Good luck with the interview 😊
thank you!
Product interviews can be intense and there are so many different types of interviews you might run into! But seems like you are fully prepared :) Best of luck!
Thank you, Alisa! Your videos have been super helpful in my preparation :)
thanks for the video! I would also like to know your strategy on preparing for behavioral questions (maybe another video lol)
This was insightful and I'm definitely gonna apply these tips to my own interview prep. I'm transitioning into UX and product design and finishing my portfolio up so I can start the job search. Interviewing is a major weak spot for me, but this is giving me inspo so thank you! And good luck :)
@bax Hello there … what did you pursue before transitioning into ux designer? I have been working as a Qa lead for past 11 years and I am in dilemma of picking either ux or product management
Good luck! Just my two cents, like any job you should be focusing on building your experience instead of prep'ing for interview questions. If you have 2 - 3 months to prep for interviews you should be building something during that time. Knowing a canned response to a interview question isn't the same as having the battle scars and understanding to why that interview question is being asked in the first place.
Yes, completely agree! In my case, I’ve been building this RUclips channel and working on some coding projects. In any case, real-world experience and proof-of-work will always shine ✨
@@harshibar Those are great, keep it up! Working with a team is a big part of being a good P.M so hopefully you are working others on those projects too. I recently hired a P.M for my start up, I would be glad to help if you have any questions. Best of luck
Here's a set of frameworks and examples for your upcoming FAANG PM Interviews: ruclips.net/p/PLejl_r9a59gudzU87GOVITdZ_rDsAGRSB
Loved each and every bit of it and I love your contents! Could you let us know how to land an interview in the first place? Especially PM Internships?
I think the best way is to get a referral if you can (though that doesn't always guarantee an interview). If not, networking with employees or recruiters through LinkedIn can work. Otherwise, having a great resume and perhaps a cover letter (depending on the company) can help.
wow, great video, i will do same for my interview preparation, im really bad at it
Hey all the very best!
This is great stuff, I could relate to this so hard as a former SWE turned PM (quite recently). Starting to apply earlier is definitely something that I should have done too. *Insert Brahmi from King meme template* Okay! Ilanti chinna chinna thapulu sahajam amma, God bless you thalli!
Is it telugu naaku telusu
Hello I am currently working in technical domain as well. In order to transition did you do any certification or course in PM (PMP) ?
Hey! When starting out in the PM world, the sheer volume of things to learn and resources to learn from can get quite overwhelming, especially considering the ‘foreignness’ of the field. This really helped me cut down to a few core things to focus on!
Please can you share what you focus on? Thank you
Hi
Thats why I subscribe you. You don't only show us the glitter part but also the behind the scene. Btw I got placed last month after getting rejected from multiple startups.
Best of luck
Good luck!!!!
All the very best ☺️👍🏾Harshi. Thank you for sharing these valuable lessons.
God bless u sister I will pray for u to get job
U r always my favourite utuber
This is really good and relatable. My question is: In interviews, how do you talk about experience when you haven't been a PM yet but have experience in another tech area?
Great question! Since PM is so multifaceted, I just talk about experience that is product-related. For example, as an SWE, how I worked with users or planned projects.
All the best.
Please make more detail video, what you studied while preparing and currently what's your roles responsibility .
It’s on my list! Just want to finish up onboarding and ramping up first
Good luck! I'm also preparing for FAANG interviews at the moment but on the dev side. I had a similar path with becoming a dev and wanting something more managerial. I'm not sure whether that will be on the product side or just management within tech. I'm really enjoying your videos :)
Thank you so much for this video. but may i know what are kinds of technical questions for the pm role?
Your youtube channel is so simple, elegant, beautiful and informative.. I love watching it... It gives me knowledge and peace to my mind.. ✌️
All the best 👍
Good prep plan ✌🏼 I enjoyed telugu memes too in btw 👍🏻💯
Glad you liked it!
Hi, thank you for creating this video.
May I know how many hours are required to study about Product Management and prepare for the interviews?
all the best
Hey, Good luck in your job search. Any chance of making your notes available to the public? I am also currently in the same phase of preparation :)
Thanks! Right now, my notes are dispersed across a few platforms and on paper notebooks (not the most ideal, I know). I hope to one day consolidate those notes -- though maybe not right away.
This is the video I wanted. Please do a video on resume for PM
I worked as Head of Product Strategy and Operations at a startup for an year and as a Developer/Scrum master for 3 years at an MNC. I’m now coming to Duke to specialise in PM.
Your resume video will help me understand how to go about internships and full time roles in US :)
Awesome! I will definitely share my resume once I got a job 😅 Hope you like Duke!
@@harshibar Thank you :)
And, please do include telugu content at times haha
Hey @harshibar Would love to know whether you have a prior experience as a PM ,as for getting calls or land a job we must have a portfolio to showcase.So how do you manage this part!
Good luck on your interviews!! Looking forward to your "How I became a PM at FAANG" video 😄
hope so! ✌🏽
Could you please share your notes that you have made during your preparation process?
Cool! All the best! 🤟🏻❤️
🤘🏽
Hey Harshi, just want to add few things while preparing for product interviews it’s always good to have chuddy buddies(good friends) with you who are also preparing for the same. It should be a small and focused group. This helps in increasing productivity and consuming more within lesser time.
Yes, that’s a great point I missed! I have a couple study partners I meet with weekly, and it’s so helpful to study together 📚
Good Content have you studied any online courses from product school or any other which you can recommend
Good luck!
Thanks!
Hey Harshi, would you be willing to share your notes from the 3 books with the community? Would love to learn from them :) Also, would you be willing to share your personal framework? Would love to learn how you put a spin on things.
What textbook were you studying?
I've just completed my higher secondary education now gonna get into software..which language should I start learning first?(I've no knowledge about basics Also)
Hi Harshita this was really a great effort, thank you for doing this. QQ HOW TO GET INTO THE SLACK GROUPS YOU MENTIONED ? Is there a public slack channel?
Yes, one of them is public! It’s linked in the description
I am a fresher interested inpursuing pm as career want to learn a lot. I love this video💯. Was looking for such a great mentor and guidance from a long long time😭 . THANKS MAM🙂
yeah 3rd view, I really like your videos 💕
I hope when you say FAANG you mean 'FAANG tier' and not actually facebook, apple, amazon, netflix, google. Personally, I think you'll thrive more at a small to mid-sized company with good finances where you can have more agency with the creative process in your projects that won't be slowed down by corporate bureaucracy. I think you mentioned you're applying to start ups in the video @9:52 which is great!
People think that FAANG is the way to make the most $$$ but actually negotiating equity in a mid-sized company with good finances on the track to IPO in the next few years is one of the quickest ways to be a millionaire in the next few years. I've seen it happen and people can join a company at 22, it IPOs, and by 24 have enough to retire.
Great point! And yes, I’m not just targeting FAANG but also high-growth startups! Ideally catching them pre-unicorn or pre-IPO :)
Smart!!
Is there any course online where we can learn product management?
Best of luck Harshibar.
thanks!
All the best! ❤️
Hi harshibar, I notice your link for instagram is block....
Thank you so much for this video, I was looking for some inspiration and your video showed up because I was very depressed because of my master's classes and internship/job hunting. Bundle of motivation for me as of now. All the very best!!!
BTW I do watch all your other videos they are great.
Also can you please elaborate on the technical skills required to be a Product Manager?
Hi, What were the questions did you ask yourself to come up with the verdict to move from SWE to PM?
-A Fellow SWE
Great question! When I was working as a SWE, I got to do some PM-style work, which helped me assess which area I liked more. There are great aspects to both, but ultimately, I asked myself what type of work I enjoy more and where I can make more of an impact.
hi, where do u get PM problems to solve?
I have a question in my mind and please answer if you notice my comment. Are there engineering and technology jobs (specifically software engineering) in every google, microsoft and apple offices worldwide? I want to have a engineering job in Google Indonesia. But I found nothing 😢
Good after noon dear I need some guidence from you about my new startup in e commerce to begin after getting knowledge about product
All the best! I was in the same boat of prepping for PM roles early this year. It's both fun and exhausting. :D
Welcome to the world of product management. :P
Does this role require any management degree ?
@@poojakumaraguru8641 It's not necessary. If you are a developer, you can move to PM role in most tech companies. Going to PM from a non-tech role is harder so an MBA usually helps in such cases. It's still possible to become a PM from non-tech roles without MBA but MBA is usually easier route to take.
Thank you! Best of luck :)
Good Luck Sister 😘
@8:33 5W1H or 5W8H?
Thank you for the video,. I am curious to know how often there’s estimation questions ask for an interview and how do you prepare for that. also please how long was the length of your preparation overall?
Thank you
There often will be an estimation question in the onsite interview loop, but the format may vary. For example, some bigger questions may dedicate 30 min just to an estimation question. Whereas others might ask you to do a quick estimate for a product design question. So definitely worth to prepare for this!
As far as me, I prepared for around 2-3 months (from having no idea about PM interviews to being ready to interview).
@@harshibar That is awesome. Did you have a routine around that. (i.e study 5a-8am, mon, tue, wed)?
And thank you for your detailed answer.
All the best Harshi!! You are soon going to get an offer! You got this
Hey! Loved the video! Would you be open to sharing the notes you made from when you were learning the fundamentals?
Thanks! The notes are quite scattered and mostly just highlights from the books I read. When I have time, I’ll try to make a Notion page!
Good Luck
All the best didi
Hey can you drop that slack community link please?
they're in the description!
Hello there, Is there any way to check out your resume that got you interviews for reference purposes? I am struggling to make a relevant resume.
I have it linked in the description!
📈 Invest in yourself! Use my link and check out the first chapter of any course for FREE! bit.ly/3dDp9wb
do you also have a linked in handel
what font you used in the video?
Do you have link for that slack group?
where is the link to all your notes
Hi Harshibar! I was wondering how are you going about applying for PM roles when switching from an industry SWE role? I am currently a SWE at a big tech company and have been studying the interview processes and PM mindsets. I am struggling to understand as many of the industry hire PM roles seem to have strict requirements on YOE as I am not receiving responses. Additionally, the lower level PM roles are mainly targeted towards new grads. Would love your advice here and if you have time to connect!
Hey Alan! I've just been applying to a ton of APM and PM roles that have less strict requirements for YOE. The process is definitely challenging though, especially since PM is so in-demand. What I've been recommended as an option is to apply somewhere as an SWE and switch internally to PM. Since you currently work as an SWE, have you considered switching internally at your company so you can build that PM experience?
@@harshibar in my current role, I have gained a bunch of experience in the PM role through taking on more PM responsibilities. It has been great and is part of the reason why I want to switch. Unfortunately, there is no formal switch over and all of the entry level roles are specifically for new grads. The industry roles usually recommend 2-3 years of experience, I have received a few interviews despite that. But unfortunately, each hiring manager has let me know that I was not chosen not due to interview perf as I've been strong hire and 2nd ranked candidate each time so far, but due to lack of direct experience. This is a positive for me as I am doing well in the interviews, but I want to start looking externally for APM or entry level roles. Do you have recommendations on how to find these opportunities for entry level PM roles for A SWE with 2 YOE?
Gotcha! I was in a similar situation of doing PM-type work as an SWE. While I don't have much experience in the matter, have you tried applying to small to medium-sized startups with less strict requirements? I've used LinkedIn, AngelList, and even VC portfolio sites to find companies of interest. I also know that FB/Google have APM applications opening soon, so that may be worth a shot. Sorry I couldn't be of much help -- still figuring out things for myself as well :)
@@harshibar Awesome. Thank you for the recommendations! I definitely check it out. I was wondering what community and resources you have found most useful for answering your questions and such.
I linked some slack groups in the description that have been helpful :)
Thanks for the slack suggestions, do you know of any for software engineering interviews instead of pm?
Also great video btw!
Yes! There is one slack group by Rahul Pandey (a fellow youtuber) for software engineering: techcareergrowth.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-lt2tbjcn-LOAVIDuGPI~nkuc4woHDLg
dudeee switch to dark modeeee
I'd work for ya! Good video. I would actually like to know about the Framework you created for yourself. Not sure if that's the most clickbait-worthy video content but it may be something to add into another video.
I'll try to incorporate that into a future video! Probably once I get a job so I can know whether my framework's any good 😅
Hi I decided to do MBA in international business management. can I apply for the product manager role? Is it best choice or not?
Hi Vignesh! Yeah for sure, I think an MBA would help give you both with getting interviews and preparing for the role. Whether it's the best choice really depends on you and what you're looking for :)
can you become a product manager by having no master degree?
Master's Degrees aren't required for Product Manager roles. Of course, one way to break into PM is through MBA programs. But, you can also do so with experience in engienering or other fields (since PM is so multidisciplinary)
Wishes from India !!!
Iam from Hyderabad. I want to get a job in product based company. Then what I can suppose to do.
Hi Harshi . I've started to get serious with java and data structures again. Any roles you would suggest for a fresher? I'm taking SQL seriously as well. Some few sources to get acclimated would be helpfull as well. Thank you
Mam can you share your notes ! If possible it will be useful to aspiring pm like me and many others !
Thanks in advance ♥️
unfortuntaly all my notes are on paper :( i wish i took them on a note-taking app to share more easily
@@harshibar thanks mam for reply are you from India or us mam
Good luck ❤️
thank you!
@@harshibar You are more than welcome.
Hey what programming language can you use during an interview ??
You are very beautiful btw
Any suggestions for experienced candidates, looking to get into product based companies as Software Engineers?
Are you switching industries? If you're more experienced, I'm sure referrals and networking should help a lot.
@@harshibar No not switching industries. But what should a candidate with 4-5 years of experience, expect in faang interviews
do we need an MBA degree to become PM in FAANG?
You don’t always need an MBA, but rather a few years of PM experience. MBA can help at places like Amazon
Harshi u remind me of devi from never ever i Netflix's series
which college u have passed btech?
Hey Harshi! Mind sharing your notes :P
unfortunately they’re all on paper notepads 😖