20 Most Common Product Manager Behavioural Interview Questions

A Product Management interview includes behavioural questions to gauge the readiness of the candidate for the role. Despite having the right skill set and ideal experience, if you do not answer Product Manager behavioural interview questions correctly, you can be rejected. Thus, to stand out in a PM interview you need to ace behavioural questions. 

Now, the question is how to prepare for Product Manager behavioural interview questions ? Well, you needn’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Below discussed are the 20 most commonly asked Product Management behavioural interview questions as a part of our product manager interview questions series. So, before your next Product Management interview, practice these questions well, and you’ll be good to go. 

Why Behavioural Questions are Important in a Product Manager Interview ?

While technical Product Manager interview questions test hard skills, behavioural questions test candidates’ ability to think on their feet. Below mentioned are the qualities recruiters look for when asking a behavioural question in a Product Manager interview.

• Bringing Out the “Manager” in You

Interviewers aim to understand as a Product Manager how you will manage, communicate, and coordinate with different departments. Though separate questions focused on your leadership and communication skills can be asked in a PM interview. These behavioural questions test the most basic skill a Product Manager should have – “Management,” for which communication and leadership skills are obligatory. 

• Analysing Your Decision Making Skills

As a Product Manager you will be expected to make some decisions which decide the future course of action for your product. Behavioural questions in a Product Management interview will judge how you make such critical decisions. You could be presented with a hypothetical situation or asked to give an example from past experiences to demonstrate your decision-making and management skills.

• Customer Interaction Skills

For a more user-friendly product, you must understand what the user wants. This is where a Product Manager comes in. One of the key responsibilities of a Product Manager is to interact and understand user feedback to develop a better product. Through behavioural questions in a Product Management interview, recruiters would try and judge your customer interaction skills and its application in Product Management. 

• How Soon Can You Adapt 

Changes are hard to deal with. But they tell a lot about a person. When hiring a Product Manager, companies look for candidates who can swiftly adapt to changes and handle turmoil situations with efficiency. During a Product Manager interview, behavioural questions are often asked to understand a candidate’s approach and ability to adapt to changes in an organization/team. Listen to Product Management podcasts by top leaders to understand how to answer such questions. 

20 Most Common Behavioural Product Management Questions

Now that we know why standing out in behavioural PM interview questions is important, let’s get started with the most commonly asked behavioural questions in a Product Manager interview. 

1. Explain how as a Product Manager you interact with users and collect feedback ?
2. How do you deal with poor feedback? Share an experience where you handled product failure. 
3. Demonstrate an experience where you dealt with a major challenge just days before the product launch. 
4. How do you make decisions as a Product Manager based on data ?
5. How do you make decisions when you don’t have enough supporting data ?
6. Explain a situation where you handled team conflict ? How you ensured smooth functioning of your teams during such a situation. 
7. Demonstrate a situation from the past you believe you could have handled better 
8. Have you ever worked at a company undergoing drastic changes ? How did you adapt to those changes?
9. Have you ever made an unpopular decision ? What was the outcome?
10. How do you decide what to include in your product and what not to ?
11. Tell about a time when you committed a mistake and how you handled the situation
12. Which is one of your most favourite products ? What would you change about it ?
13. If you’re hired what will you do in the first 60 days ?
14. How do you deal with a situation of disagreement with stakeholders ?
15. What impact did you have on your previous company as a Product Manager ?
16. Coming from a non-tech background, how do you interact with engineering teams?
17. How will you handle the situation where your product launch is delayed due to technical issues ?
18. How do you build a product roadmap ?
19. How would your coworkers describe you as a Product Manager ?
20. Why Product Management ?

Pin

5 Tips to Answer Product Manager Behavioural Interview Questions

It must be understood that there are no standard answers to Product Management behavioural questions. These questions vary according to the organisation and the type of product. However, with some Product Manager interview tips you can better understand how to answer behavioural questions and put your best foot forward. 

1. It’s an unsaid rule to Research the Company. However, to crack a Product Manager interview you need more than that. While answering a behavioural question in a Product Management interview, try and reflect your research in your answers. For instance, when talking about user interaction, answer in respect to the users of the company you are interviewing for.
2. Read the Job Description thoroughly and understand the company’s expectations and mold your answer according to that. For example, your answer to questions such as “How do you make decisions as a Product Manager?” should mention soft/hard skills the recruiter demands in JD and showcase your experience at the same time. 
3. Learn from the Best. To answer like a Product Manager, you need to think like one. Before your interview, start following top product leaders to learn about Product Management beyond the books. Further to get deeper insights on Product Management you can listen to podcasts or subscribe to Product Management newsletters. 
4. Use Your Experiences. In a Product Manager interview you are asked behavioural questions that specifically require you to demonstrate past experiences. The best way to answer such Product Manager behavioural interview questions is to prepare certain experience stories well in advance so that you are not left searching for answers during the interview. 
5. Prepare Hypothetical Questions. Often behavioural Product Manager interview questions include a hypothetical situation. Such behavioural questions can surprise and throw you off track. However, you can refer to behavioural Product Management interview questions discussed above and prepare for such situational questions. Further,  it is important to stay updated with the latest Product Management Trends which will enable you to modify your answers to such questions accordingly. 

We hope these Product Manager behavioural interview questions help you prepare and crack your interview. If you are new to the field of Product Management, a certification course would give you a head start to this journey. Checkout our Product Management courses and stay connected for our next blog in the Product Manager interview questions series.