15 Common Execution Mistakes
15 Common Mistakes
No Structure - Or at least you don’t share the structure clearly with the interviewer
Not Driving the Interview - Lack of structure frequently causes impatient interviewers to take the lead
Missing Two-Sided Marketplace - In our mind, we know this, but nerves might cause us to forget
Shallow Understanding of Products - not enough research, a fatal flaw in all PM interviews
Claim Engagement over Acquisition - Default rule of thumb can be dangerous
No Logic for Metrics - Again, you might think it but if you don’t say it is important you lose the interviewer.
Metrics Not Mearuable - There are three parts to a metric.
Picking the wrong time period for the metric (e.g. daily vs. monthly)
Problematic Top Metrics
Picking ratios as top-line metrics (average is a ratio)
Getting too specific (it might be more accurate) but likely be too detailed for top metric
Not thinking about the product-wide impact
Not thinking about all the stakeholders involved
Not thinking about the short and longer-term impact
Not thinking about the correct population to experiment with
10 Corrective Measures
Share a 4 to 5-part Framework
Be clear about the transition from one section to another
Talk about Demand & Supply
Study Product - If still don’t know ask “Am I missing any key part of the funnel?”
Cover all key metrics (both acquisition and engagement)
Make Sharing the Why and the Metric a unit of your framework
Think of funnel (i.e. vist site >> sign up for event >> attend the event)
3 Parts to a Metric - Measure + Action + Time Period
Pick the simple metrics
Simple includes something that connects to what the team can drive
Metric that closely represents the usage of your product
Not ideal, but if you messed up, change your approach if needed
Reference:
Diana Yao - Full credit here to another coach. Diana Yao does an amazing job breaking down Meta execution questions do’s and don’ts. I highly recommend that you check out her YouTube videos. In her Execution Playlist, number 9 of 10 talks about common mistakes people make in execution interviews. I will admit, in my mocks in preparing for Meta interviews, I struggled with a lot of these problems even though I knew better. Diana does a great job of breaking things down for you.
Rohan Katyal is a PM with a great mind for frameworks and structured thinking. He does a great job breaking down interview prep advice here: How I Prepared for Facebook Interviews
