Google: Interview Panel Setup
TL;DR - Product Design & Insights is the most important question type and Strategic Insights the second most important interview type. Everything else is important for leveling BUT if you don’t do well on the Design & Insights pieces you will not get a Google offer.
Note: Starting in May 2022, I have seen a number of people being skipped past the phone screen. Also, the tech interview is in flux, it is a mixed bag, some people are encountering engineers, others PMs and some don’t get the tech interview at all. Google has realized that the tech interview isn’t as important in the deceision because the lost a good
Your interviewer will be grading you according to the the following flow:
Phone Screen:
You will get rated on all 3 elements in 45 mins. It is a lot in a short time period.
Product Design & Insights
Strategic Insights
Analytics/Craft & Execution
Note: You have a strong likelihood (60-70%) of getting the favorite product question but there are other prompts and combinations.
NEW Onsites
As of June 15, 2022, Google modified its approach to PM interviews. They REMOVED the technical interview. Rejoice!!! They finally realized that overemphasizing on the technical interview was causing them to lose amazing candidates. While there is still some variation, the new set of 5 panels/sessions are as follows: (I have kept the old panels listed for reference for anyone looking to compare and contrast).
I have listed them in the order of importance for your final acceptance, not necessarily in the order you will
Product Design & Insights + Strategic Insights
same as old format & still most important
expect ~ 1 to 4 questions
compound design + strategy questions rather than separate questions is common but not guaranteed. Be ready for one big design question with a strategy twist as well as standalone questions.
Strategic Insights + Googleyness/Leadership + Analytical
expect ~ 3 to 4 questions
typically the hiring manager
Product Insights + Craft & Execution
expect ~ 1 to 4 questions
compound strategy + craft& execution question common
new format is less about design because of the added execution
but still fair game to get a design question from old schoolers
Craft/Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration
expect ~ 1 to 2 questions
format is all over the place until they settle on new format but trade offs and go-to-market (GTM) questions seem common
working well with others will be tested
If a technical role or team, consider Lewis Lin’s course is pretty good for PMs.
Analytical & Cross-Functional Collaboration
expect ~ 1 to 3 questions
Estimation is still fair game but expect some trade offs and prioritization as well
working well with others will be tested
Old Onsite (for reference)
There are 5 panels/sessions. I have listed them in the order of importance for your final acceptance, not necessarily the order you will see them in your interview.
Product Design & Insights + Googleyness & Leadership
expect ~ 3 to 4 questions
Main focus on design/insights but expect 2 behavior/hypothetical questions
Product Design & Insights + Strategic Insights
expect ~ 1 to 4 questions
compound design + strategy question rather than seperate questions is common but not guaranteed. Be ready for one big design question with strategy twist as well as standalone questions.
Strategic Insights + Analytics
expect ~ 1 to 4 questions
compound strategy + analytics question rather than seperate questions is common but not guaranteed.
Analytics
expect ~ 1 to 3 questions
all about analytics (estimation, metrics, etc.)
Technical*
expect ~ 1 to 2 questions
format is all over the place until they settle on new format. If worried, Lewis Lin’s course is pretty good for PMs.
Note: The analytics questions scare many people but they are not as impactful on your final decision. HOWEVER, people’s fear of math in front of someone else
*Google is implimenting the changes. Some interviewers might not be comfortable with the new format just yet.
TL;DR - Nothing is worked out in reality. Still a mess.
The Question Types within Craft & Execution
Prioritization & Trade Offs
Product Launch
Crisis Response
Teamwork and Communication
Technical Explainers
I have spoken to folks inside (including interviewers and hiring committee folks) and there is still a lot of confusion inside. Many people who interview don't know about the question types.
For Now
Different Teams are doing different things
It is a catchall for a lot of questions types, still a bit of a mess
Some people are being told to prep for both!
If interviewers don't know about the change, they can't ask or rate the questions
There are too many different things going on for the Hiring Committee to block on just this interview type
I am seeing a lot of people being a second chance on one interview or another, I think more than used to happen just given the spike in clients looking for help before an interview re-do. So don't worry.
With that in mind, here are my early thoughts:
Prioritization & Trade Offs - If you prep for FB/Meta Execution you should be fine. We are already seeing some of these questions showing up in question banks.
Product Launch - Seems similar to a cross between strategy and execution
Crisis Response - A little like Googleyness & Leadership + Strategy
Teamwork and Communications - Very much like Googleyness & Leadership questions
Technical Explainers - Lightweight leftover from original technical interview. Likely to come from more technical teams
Updated 7/17
Image Credits: Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash
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