Practical PM Skill Test for a Job Interview

It is very easy to assess developers' skills. They either can code or not, and they either do it in front of you on the whiteboard/code editor or struggle.

The PMs are different. There, it is far more challenging to understand what a person is really capable of at the interview. The point is, with a little preparation, everyone can give you an abstract answer about “What’s their favourite product and why”, or “What was your approach to measure business impact”, and so on.

So, what's the problem here? First of all, unlike developers coding, you do not see how Product Manager candidates approach unfamiliar tasks. But their daily job will be exactly a collection of those: unfamiliar tasks.

Second, developers do the same in their day-to-day work as in interviews (they code). PMs, on the other hand, won’t be answering abstract questions, but will be thrown right into the whirl of problems. And solving these problems requires having hard skills, check these examples:

• You are thinking of a new feature X. What are the right questions to ask the data team (or a data set itself through a BI tool or SQL)?
• What does the data tell you (e.g., “conversion = 7.5%”), and what does it mean for business?
• How to write a good PRD on the new API integration with a payment provider?
• How to set up an A/B test, and how to make a decision when it ends, when the results are non-obvious? (and usually, they are very much non-obvious)
• Is this particular OKR good or bad? (Stakes: 3 months of teamwork/focus)
• How to calculate Unit Economics to understand whether your idea can even be profitable?
• And so on, and so forth.

And suppose a candidate is not ready to undertake these very concrete, hard-skills-based tasks. In that case, even if they manage to get through the interview, they will have a very hard time in the actual job. And that can end with a probation period or less-than-pleasant performance reviews at the end of the year.

In this test, I want you to be prepared to be a PM-by-skills, because I strongly believe that, in this case, the interview process becomes just a pleasant discussion when you are being yourself (instead of trying to pretend to be someone else and using tricks).

The test will surely not give you yet another list of “100 questions you’ll get at the job interview (comment PDF and get it)” or similar scam. For that part, I give you free advice which will save you time, money, and effort commenting “PDF” under some LinkedIn posts:

• Upload the Job Description to ChatGPT
• Provide AI with the context you have about the interview round (e.g., Product Strategy, or Working with a team) and who will be attending (2 PMs or a PM and a developer). If you don’t know this, it's also fine.
• If you also want to be challenged on your past experience, upload your CV
• Ask ChatGPT to generate questions and try to answer them. If your spouse asks why you talk to yourself, tell them not to worry.

Just be careful not to adjust the CV based on what ChatGPT suggests, and don't make up any experience you haven’t had. Otherwise, you’ll likely end up on the blacklist of many companies.

Be yourself, be genuine. Remember: you just warm up on talking points, as there is no way you'll know in advance what you’ll be asked. And again, it is not about squeezing through the door and passing that interview; it is about being a skillful PM.

Now that we've figured out the “presenting yourself” part, we can focus on the actual skills you’ll need in your job. How to approach the test:

• Set aside 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted time to focus. If you can’t find such a slot, the PM job is not for you; you can stop right here :)
• Immerse yourself in the test (the link is below, but please read this paragraph first). You’ll define proper OKRs, call a real API, write a SQL query and get real data back, check metrics in Mixpanel, make a decision on A/B tests, and more. This is actually quite fun, so don’t forget to enjoy.

At the end, reflect:

Did it feel very natural and easy? Then it will feel the same on the actual job, because these kinds of tasks, in different shapes and forms, will be thrown at you from day one.

Were some topics easy, while others challenging? You don’t have to be perfect in everything, but check which of them will likely be needed in the job you aim for.

• For example, for startups, Unit Economics / Customer Research are the focus
• For an established corporation, you will need stronger skills in Product Analytics, A/B testing, ML, and related areas.
• For Big Tech companies, you want to be fluent with the Technology part and have solid AI skills.

Finally, if you are completely lost, then congratulate yourself—you now know what to do: learn and practice. Sweat and tears will bring the result, at least they always did for me when I approached something unknown.

Here is the link. No registration / etc. The whole test is anonymous, and the results are only visible to you. Enjoy!