Questions to Ask the Interviewer in a Product Management Interview
Learn the importance of having a plan and questions ready for the interviewer to reveal insightful answers about the company, the specific job, the product culture, the team, career development in the company, and the hiring manager.
At the end of an interview, the interviewer will ask you if you have questions for them. You should prepare several questions before the interview. Why is this important? It is essential for two reasons. Firstly, it is an opportunity for you to ask questions to evaluate whether the company or position is desirable to you. Secondly, having questions shows your interest in the position and, therefore, want to inquire more. The quality of your questions depends on how genuine they are.
The two goals for asking the interviewer questions are:
- To help you decide if you want to work there.
- To show your interest in the job.
Coming Up With Questions
Consider the information you need to decide whether you will be happy in this new job. Assess what you would need to know about these six topics:
- the company,
- the specific job,
- the product culture,
- the team,
- career development, and
- the hiring manager.
For example, below are questions that you may want to have answers for to decide whether this job is what you want.
Company
- Does the company have a good culture/work balance?
- Do people like to work there?
- Is the company run well? How does the company align corporate decisions with product development?
- Do they have a solid strategy?
Job Specific
- Will the tasks or type of work that will consume 90% of my time be tedious
- or not challenging enough?
- Will I work late with people in a different time zone?
Product Culture
- Am I expected to be the product owner besides being the product manager?
Team
- Who will be in my team? Do they have the needed skills? (e.g., team size, skills, experience, etc.)
- Will I have resources, or will it be challenging to get them?
- Are product teams organised efficiently?
- Do they have clear long-term goals?
- Is the company data-centric?
Career Development
- What happens if this new product gets cancelled? Will I lose my job?
- How difficult is it to move up?
- Do they grow their people?
- How are product decisions made? Will I have a say?
- How will I be evaluated? Do they have a solid performance evaluation program?
Hiring Manager
- Will I like my boss?
- Will they care about my career development?
- Will they micromanage?
- Will they have my back?
So, your job is to reframe these and other questions to ask the interviewer tactfully.
Product Culture
- Am I expected to be the product owner besides being the product manager?
Team
- Who will be in my team? Do they have the needed skills? (e.g., team size, skills, experience, etc.)
- Will I have resources, or will it be challenging to get them?
- Are product teams organised efficiently?
- Do they have clear long-term goals?
- Is the company data-centric?
Career Development
- What happens if this new product gets cancelled? Will I lose my job?
- How difficult is it to move up?
- Do they grow their people?
- How are product decisions made? Will I have a say?
- How will I be evaluated? Do they have a solid performance evaluation program?
Hiring Manager
- Will I like my boss?
- Will they care about my career development?
- Will they micromanage?
- Will they have my back?
So, your job is to reframe these and other questions to ask the interviewer tactfully.
Tips
Follow the tips below to frame your questions for the interviewer.
Transition Smoothly
To transition smoothly into this part of the interview, ask a question related to something the interviewer mentioned during the first part.
Personalise Your Questions
Personalise your questions, such as “What projects would I be taking?”
Prioritise Your Questions
Prepare and prioritise questions ahead of time.
Questions Important to You
Ask the questions that you care about.
Spend time thinking about what you want to know and what type of information you need to obtain.
For example, what type of information do you need to answer:
- Is this job something I want?
- Do I like this company?
- Will this manager be a good one?
Don’ts
Don’t ask questions that you could answer based on company research.
Don’t ask salary questions until they show they want you.
Your List of Questions
Below is a comprehensive list of questions that cover the six topics:
- company,
- the specific job,
- team,
- product culture
- career development, and
- the hiring manager.
We also explain why it is essential to ask this question. And we included questions to help you ‘close’ the interview smoothly.
Company
Question: How does the corporate or executive team work with product leadership?
Why: Is the company well run?
***
Question: What are the company’s goals, and how does this team support them?
Why: Are the business and product divisions aligned? Are they working together?
***
Question: What is a workday like for you?
Why: To get a sense of work-life balance in the company.
***
Question: Do you sometimes work from home?
Why: To learn if there is flexibility with remote working a few days a week.
***
Question: How would you describe the company’s values?
Why: To learn if the company’s values align with yours.
***
Question: How has the company changed over the last few years?
Why: To catch a red flag in the company’s future.
***
Question: How do you typically onboard employees?
Why: To see if the company properly trains new employees to set them up for success.
***
Question: What did you find surprising about the company after you started?
Why: To discover if there is a red flag with the company or if it is, in fact, a fantastic company.
***
Question: What is your favourite company tradition?
Why: Do people have fun and are proud of the company?
Job Specific
Question: What do you expect me to accomplish in the first six months to a year?
Why: To get a sense of the pace to ramp up and elicit details about key projects you would not hear about otherwise.
***
Question: Thinking about the people you’ve seen do this work previously, what differentiated the ones who were good from the ones who were great at it?
Why: This question goes to the core of what managers are interviewing people for. They are looking for people who will shine, and this question says you are in alignment with the hiring manager. It makes you sound like you want to do extraordinary work.
***
Question: What would a typical day for me in this role look like?
Why: An answer to this question will also tell you what it takes to excel in this position and if it is something you can do.
***
Question: How will my performance be evaluated? Is there a formal review process?
Why: To visualise what doing this job every day would be like. If the interviewer evades by saying it is different every day, then ask, “Can you tell me what the last month looked like for the person currently in the job? What took up most of their time?” If the interviewer does not have a clear answer, then it is a sign that there are no clear expectations and that the job is not clearly defined.
***
Question: Will I replace someone who left, or is this a new open position?
Why: Reveals what it will take to do well and for the manager to be happy with you.
***
Question: What projects would I be taking on soon after being hired?
Why: This question will reveal what your success truly depends on or if the manager has no idea what success means for the job.
***
Question: How long until I am expected to start managing the development sprints?
Why: To learn the reasons one or more employees left the position.
***
Question: What is the biggest challenge I may be facing in this role?
Why: To show that you are genuinely interested and also to allow you to show what you can do for them.
***
Question: What is the main reason someone could fail in this position?
Why: To learn how fast you need to get up and running.
***
Question: Do you expect my primary responsibilities to change in the next six months to a year?
Why: This question will elicit problems you would never get from the job description. For example, interdepartmental politics, or that the person you’ll be working with most closely is challenging to get along with, or something else. It can open an opportunity to talk about how you approached similar problems in the past, which can reassure the hiring manager.
***
Question: Who or which department will I be working more closely with?
Why: To reveal what you must achieve to make the manager happy.
***
Question: How long did the previous person in the role hold the position? What has turnover in the role generally been like?
Why: To find out if your position is stable or you may lose your job if the product fails.
Why: To learn if the role’s activities align with your expectations. Also, to reveal which team you must prioritise when working cross-functionally.
Why: If people don’t stay longer than a year, you should worry about the manager being horrible and having unrealistic expectations. If there has been a pattern of departures, ask why the high turnover occurs.
Product Culture
Question: How are the product teams organised? How are resources allocated to teams?
Why: To learn if the product organisation is well run.
***
Question: How do teams collaborate?
Why: To learn if they have an established process.
***
Question: How are product ideas conceived, top-down, down-up, or a mix?
Why: To learn if you and your team will have a say on new products or if the ideas come from the top down.
***
Question: How does a new product approval process work?
Why: To learn how hard it is to get buy-in.
***
Question: To reveal what kind of manager they are or want to be.
Why: Are they a data-oriented organisation or loose with goals and metrics?
Team
Question: What is the team I’ll be working with like?
Why: To learn if the team has the skills needed.
***
Question: What are some things the team is trying to achieve?
Why: Are goals clearly stated for the team?
***
Question: What is the biggest challenge for this team?
Why: To learn the nature of the challenges (intra-politics, resources, skills, etc.)
***
Question: What are this product’s long-term goals in 2 years?
Why: Does the company/hiring manager have a clear strategy?
***
Question: Have you experienced an emergency product moment with your team? What happened?
Why: To learn how the team handles stressful situations.
***
Question: Which other teams work closely with this one?
Why: To know which cross-functional teams to prioritise.
Hiring Manager
Question: How long have you been working for this company?
Why: To learn the hiring manager’s background and if he has been successful at the company.
***
Question: Has your role changed since you’ve been here?
Why: To learn about the hiring manager’s experience within the company.
***
Question: How long have you been a manager?
Why: To learn if they will know how to manage people. Or you have to manage them.
***
Question: Why did you come to this company?
Why: To learn what the manager values about the company.
***
Question: Who do you think is a good product leader, and who is a lousy leader?
Why: To reveal what kind of manager they are or want to be.
***
Question: What are your one-on-one meetings like with your team? What do you expect? (follow with how often)
Why: To learn if the hiring manager has a clue as to how to manage people.
***
Question: What is your job’s most and least exciting part?
Why: To learn if the hiring manager is staying or leaving.
***
Question: What do you like about working here?
Why: To reveal if the manager is genuinely excited about the company or their job.
***
Question: How would you describe the culture here? What type of people tend to thrive here, and what type don’t do well?
Why: To learn what the manager cares about in their employees or what will make you clash with them.
***
Question: How would you describe the culture here compared to other companies you have worked for?
Why: To reveal what the manager likes about working for this company and what he doesn’t like relative to other places.
Career Development
Question: What is a typical career path for this position?
Why: To see if the position is a dead end or has possibilities.
***
Question: How are promotions typically handled?
Why: To learn what you need to do to get promoted.
***
Question: What professional development opportunities are available to employees?
Why: To learn if you will be able to grow professionally.
Closing
Question: Is there anything more about my qualifications that you would like me to clarify?
Why: That is an excellent leading question to end the chat.
***
Question: What are the next steps after this interview?
Why: To know when you can expect to hear back and ping them if they don’t.
Summary
Before your interview, consider what you want to know about the company, the specific job, the team, the product culture, career development, and the hiring manager to decide if you wish to work there. We presented a comprehensive list of 45 questions across these topics that will help prepare you for when the interviewer asks the infamous question, “Do you have any questions for me?”.