Product Manager

Product Manager qualifications to look for 

The product manager takes full ownership of products within your company. They see the product through from initial concept to design, working to build an incredible product with the end-user in mind. 

Your top hire will have deep knowledge of business, technology and user experience. From this, they can direct your teams in the development of your product.

Your best candidate will nerd-out about software products they’ve previously launched. They will give sharp observations about their customers and competition in these descriptions. 

Look for candidates with a solid grasp of engineering concepts and those who can build great working relationships with engineers. 

Regardless of their background, a top-notch product manager will be fanatical about user experience. They can walk you through times when they struggled with product management and how they overcame it, and take deep-dives into how you can improve and evolve products over time.  

Top tip: Diversity is key to a thriving workplace. Keep an eye out for management and exec-level candidates from varying backgrounds and aim to eliminate bias from your hiring process.

Problem-solving interview questions

• Who are your top influencers in product design? They can be designers or companies.  How do they influence your work? 
• Who are your current customers and competitors? How do they influence product design? 
• Name a favorite tool or program you use for work.  How would you evaluate these products’ efficiency?
• What’s the first thing you’d do if hired? What would you imagine your first week to look like?
• What is your process for designing product features?
• How do you decide when to cancel or shelf a project idea? 
• How can you monetize a popular service such as Instagram?
• Tell me about a successful product that you like. What makes it so successful?
• Describe a feature from that product from an engineering perspective.
• How do you get feedback on a SaaS product you’re launching? 
• Have your engineers ever been opposed to a decision you made? What was the issue? Defend their point of view.
• Have you written a product manual? If so, what was your experience like? Is it something you enjoy?
• How do you improve flaws or weaknesses in a product?