Grading Advice No. 10: Something You Are Proud Of

This is part of a series on how to be a good mock partner and ask the right questions. It is also great for thinking like a hiring manager to better prepare for your pending interviews.

To see the rest of the articles in the series, find the list here.

This is a favorite question for startups but I am also seeing it a lot with team matching in big tech companies.

The Prompt

• Tell me about a product you are proud of.

• Tell me about a product you are proud of and why?

• What is the product you are most proud of.

If they don’t say it, the why is always implied. And knowing why you are telling a product story is crucial to win over your interviewer. If you don’t know why you picked it, I promise that will come across in your storytelling. If this is the case, you have put the cognitive load on your listener.

How to Grade

When grading people on the product they are most proud of, you need to take this POV and grill them on why they picked this product story.

Additionally, they need to tell an easy-to-understand story that isn’t too high-level, nor is it too in the weeds.

Advice for Partner

If they fail, give your partner the following advice.

“Understand what you are trying to get across. What is the product skill set or strength that they’re gonna bring to the table that they’re illustrating by sharing this story.” 

The Logic

Being proud of having worked on Google search because it touched so many people’s lives is not something that’s going to help get you hired.

Being able to speak about how you learned the importance of user interviews and turn the learning into action will win over the listener.

Then the candidate can add the impact statement about being used by millions of people. 

Common Problem Over-focused on Execution

Junior PMs typically over-index on execution details and forget to share “Why I am proud.”

The point of this question is to convince the person listening that the candidate has the skill sets they need to be on the team.

If your partner bores you with details that make them sound junior, they have failed.