Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology
- Downloads：2873
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-05 03:16:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Gayle Laakmann McDowell
- ISBN：0984782818
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
How many pizzas are delivered in Manhattan？ How do you design an alarm clock for the blind？ What is your favorite piece of software and why？ How would you launch a video rental service in India？ This book will teach you how to answer these questions and more。 Cracking the PM Interview is a comprehensive book about landing a product management role in a startup or bigger tech company。 Learn how the ambiguously-named "PM" （product manager / program manager） role varies across companies， what experience you need， how to make your existing experience translate， what a great PM resume and cover letter look like， and finally， how to master the interview: estimation questions， behavioral questions， case questions， product questions， technical questions， and the super important "pitch。"
Reviews
Nikhil
，
Helpful guide to reassert certain missing links
Rohit Kumar
，
covers all the basics from why （reasons） to how （cv， cover letter， questions， cases）。
Viktor Kazakov
，
Хорошая книга про собеседования в большие компании， но я бы принимал приобретенные знания для прохождения во все компании。 Из-за примеров"больших" тёть и дядь книга кажется немного снобской， надо это просто принять и дочитать до конца。 Хорошая книга про собеседования в большие компании， но я бы принимал приобретенные знания для прохождения во все компании。 Из-за примеров"больших" тёть и дядь книга кажется немного снобской， надо это просто принять и дочитать до конца。 。。。more
Erin
，
Can't recall the actual date but probably read it in May。 Skimmed through the book for useful sections。 Has some helpful tips。 Can't recall the actual date but probably read it in May。 Skimmed through the book for useful sections。 Has some helpful tips。 。。。more
Bhavik
，
A must read for any PM or aspiring PM。 The best thing about this book is that it's not just a guide to cracking the PM Interviews ， it teaches in general how to approach any product problems。 A clear thinking helps you define but a framework is what makes a approaching a problem fun。 A must read for any PM or aspiring PM。 The best thing about this book is that it's not just a guide to cracking the PM Interviews ， it teaches in general how to approach any product problems。 A clear thinking helps you define but a framework is what makes a approaching a problem fun。 。。。more
Sundar
，
Helps align your thoughts; prepare for interviews， both to conduct or to crack。 With no formal education or strict role description， I am confident the book and its content will stay valid for at least a few years。Must read for any Product Manager。 A good brush-up even for Senior PMs。
Pooja
，
Good book for first timers wanting to prep for PM interviews。 The last couple of chapters are especially helpful。
Hachi
，
DON’T take Cracking The PM Interview as the Bible to interviewing for Product Manager positions。 In my experience， when applying for anything beyond an Associate PM role， the sample questions in the book are much too vague and more general than what you’ll actually be asked。 （No interviewer has ever asked me to brainstorm about vending machines or design a better pen， for example。）DO take the frameworks presented for answering questions about product strategy， marketing， and launch and prepare t DON’T take Cracking The PM Interview as the Bible to interviewing for Product Manager positions。 In my experience， when applying for anything beyond an Associate PM role， the sample questions in the book are much too vague and more general than what you’ll actually be asked。 （No interviewer has ever asked me to brainstorm about vending machines or design a better pen， for example。）DO take the frameworks presented for answering questions about product strategy， marketing， and launch and prepare thoroughly with your specific company’s product in mind。 They provide great structure to talking about product management approaches。 。。。more
John
，
We recommend this book to students of Stanford's BUS-62W （Intro to Product Management）。Cracking the PM Interview is a crash course in what it means to be a PM。 After all， what makes you a better PM interviewee than being a better PM？I pick this up all the time as a refresher of the mindset required to be an effective product manager。 But the interview-oriented portions are great too！ Certainly recommended for anyone interviewing or interested in understanding what makes a great PM。 We recommend this book to students of Stanford's BUS-62W （Intro to Product Management）。Cracking the PM Interview is a crash course in what it means to be a PM。 After all， what makes you a better PM interviewee than being a better PM？I pick this up all the time as a refresher of the mindset required to be an effective product manager。 But the interview-oriented portions are great too！ Certainly recommended for anyone interviewing or interested in understanding what makes a great PM。 。。。more
Kelly
，
I'm going to clarify that I have not read every section of this in detail because plenty of it does not pertain to my career， despite that I found it to be an incredible resource and useful for anyone in a process based role。 I'm going to clarify that I have not read every section of this in detail because plenty of it does not pertain to my career， despite that I found it to be an incredible resource and useful for anyone in a process based role。 。。。more
Somana
，
A starterGood read if you want to understand about product management overview and interview patterns in different companies。 It may not be sufficient to crack a PM interview， but it's a good starting point on what to expect in the journey。 A starterGood read if you want to understand about product management overview and interview patterns in different companies。 It may not be sufficient to crack a PM interview， but it's a good starting point on what to expect in the journey。 。。。more
Luke Duncan
，
I read this book as an engineering manager just looking to understand the roles of my partners around me through their own eyes。 So perhaps not the target audience。The books is dated， published in 2013， and things move fast in startup land。 But it’s clear the authors networks are vast and include inside-baseball names and advise from throughout the industry。 It was also nice to see the breakdown of titles across companies and how the roles differ。
Abdurrachman
，
Despite the title， this book is a good introduction to the field of product management。 The vague field in product development where design， engineering and business intersects。
Rick Wong
，
Very handy book for anyone about to go through a PM interview。 The book goes deep on the type of questions asked during an interview， especially how to handle the technical portions。 The part I found more valuable， as someone already in the industry， is the insights from the industry veterans。
Rob
，
I wish I had read this a bit earlier in my PM career。 This is an excellent read even if you are currently a product manager and managing teams。 Many of the questions can be helpful when looking for potential PMs to hire。 The authors deserve a great deal of credit for capturing so much knowledge on the role of PM。
Annie Nguyen
，
If you have gone through the PM interview process before， this book will be repetitive and very high level。I recommend this book for new Product Managers or those who are interested in making the switch。
LT
，
will come back later to this book for PM interview notes
Adam D
，
useful for explaining how tech companies think of a pm and how it can differ， and some useful ways to think of interview problems
Athena
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I hope it's not as fragmented。 I hope it's not as fragmented。 。。。more
Diane
，
Some of these chapters should be required reading for anyone interviewing for anything。
WhatIReallyRead
，
I read this book and landed the job of my dreams - so how can I possibly give it anything less than 5 stars？ :DTo be serious though: my interviewing process was in some ways very similar to what was described here， some aspects exactly the same。 But in other ways， it wasn't。 Then again， I'm not in the US and I wasn't applying to Amazon/Facebook/Google。 So the book will probably be even more accurate for people who do that。I found this book to be well-structured， concrete， to the point， and very I read this book and landed the job of my dreams - so how can I possibly give it anything less than 5 stars？ :DTo be serious though: my interviewing process was in some ways very similar to what was described here， some aspects exactly the same。 But in other ways， it wasn't。 Then again， I'm not in the US and I wasn't applying to Amazon/Facebook/Google。 So the book will probably be even more accurate for people who do that。I found this book to be well-structured， concrete， to the point， and very helpful。 It gave lots of examples of questions/problems and possible solutions， as well as approaches and the reasoning behind them。 It teaches you to think in a way that will get where you need to be even if your questions will be different。 I would even recommend it to people who are not actually seeking a PM job at the moment。 Because I felt like the benefits of this book go beyond getting hired。 If you're transitioning into a PM role officially or unofficially within the same company without a formal interview - sometimes it's tough to get the hang of expectations and responsibilities。 This is what happened to me a couple of years ago。 This book gave me some much-needed clarity and insights。 I finally understood what I've been doing for the past 2 years LOL :D Some phrases hit so close to home I even cried。 I highlighted so many passages it's embarrassing。Bottom line: a good book。 。。。more
T
，
This is a good read。 It's a widely recommended classic for aspiring PMs。 Definitely worth it as a primer for anyone seriously considering a PM role。I found this useful not only in the process of interviewing for PM positions， but also for being effective once in the job。 Certain sections on interpersonal influence or thinking about product growth provided a framework for thinking on the job。 I've definitely taken a few tricks from the book and used them to great effect。 For instance scheduling 1 This is a good read。 It's a widely recommended classic for aspiring PMs。 Definitely worth it as a primer for anyone seriously considering a PM role。I found this useful not only in the process of interviewing for PM positions， but also for being effective once in the job。 Certain sections on interpersonal influence or thinking about product growth provided a framework for thinking on the job。 I've definitely taken a few tricks from the book and used them to great effect。 For instance scheduling 1:1s with all important stakeholders ahead of a big decision meeting。 Fairly basic， but I hadn't thought of it myself。The book is split into a few key sections:-what is PM， what do they do， where do they work-how to have good profile （experiences / resume）-unique qualities of the function and day to day activities-what makes a successful PM on the job-interviews with PMs-interview questions （behavior / interpersonal skills）-interview questions （product: basically case interviews with a focus） 。。。more
Kasim
，
Overall a very good book and helps product managers "organize" themselves。 I think there are other ways to skin a cat （being a good product manager） but this does put some round thought around it Overall a very good book and helps product managers "organize" themselves。 I think there are other ways to skin a cat （being a good product manager） but this does put some round thought around it 。。。more
Khushbu Gupta
，
Definitely a good read 。 Not just read infact implement its learning at different stages。Should keep this book handy， you will need to many stages of your career 。If you cant then just take notes and summary of this book and keep it with you for lifetime :）
Oscar Salgado
，
Too basic and sometimes far from reality。 But it's an acceptable guide for someone just coming out of college and wants to understand the role of a PM Too basic and sometimes far from reality。 But it's an acceptable guide for someone just coming out of college and wants to understand the role of a PM 。。。more
Brock Lumbard
，
Would like more detail on product design questions， had to supplement the book with online resources。
Vatroslav Mileusnić
，
Skimmed through。 Good advices。
Ostap Andrusiv
，
If you ever end up going through PM interviews， check out this book。 It provides structure， example questions， and explains PM interview process from the other person's perspective。 E。g。 think like your interviewer – how would you interview another person for a similar position？ Another good idea of this book is the structure on how to prepare for general interview questions。 Sometimes， especially when you're deep into the daily routine tasks， you forget about ways to present yourself and your s If you ever end up going through PM interviews， check out this book。 It provides structure， example questions， and explains PM interview process from the other person's perspective。 E。g。 think like your interviewer – how would you interview another person for a similar position？ Another good idea of this book is the structure on how to prepare for general interview questions。 Sometimes， especially when you're deep into the daily routine tasks， you forget about ways to present yourself and your skills。 Basically you just read through the book， structure your knowledge， and prepare for the next challenge in your life。 Bottom line: 5， especially if you're going through PM interviews。 。。。more
Kresimir Mudrovcic
，
Really interesting book that covers a variety of areas that different companies ask when interviewing PMs。 There are some really great questions and brainteasers which will make your brain busy 😜 overall， It was interesting to see how do most powerful companies interview PM candidates to find the best ones。
Gwen
，