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Creating an opportunity to drive products for billions of users, few companies can offer the wide latitude, sheer size, and access to data that a product manager position at Google can. Google hires approximately 45 APMs per year across various offices in the United States as well worldwide despite thousands and thousands of applications.
The APM Program, the first of its kind, allows the company to not only develop in-house talent rather than having to interview scores of industry professionals years down the line. Allowing for the creation of tight-knit APM communities the program allows new recruits to experience a variety of products and technologies in various locations and industries.
Google’s hiring process has many levels and validation requirements, something essential to such a large company hoping to scale their teams but maintain the quality of their employees. Thus, even candidates with referrals have an offer rate of less than 5%. While the Google interview process is extremely tough, obtaining a PM position at the company is achievable with the correct preparation.
Week 0
Submit your resume and get referrals.
Week 2
Initial phone screen with a recruiter. Covers behavioral and resume-based questions.
Week 4
Phone interview with a PM covering general product questions, usually centered around a theoretical problem.
Week 7
Five 45-minute onsite interviews: four product questions with PMs and one technical question (more system design than coding) with an engineer. You’ll also have lunch with a PM, where you can ask questions in a more casual setting. The lunch interview isn’t usually graded, but treat it like a real interview just to be safe.
Week 8
Take-home assignment.
Product Sense is tested throughout the Google interview process to see if you can turn a big ambiguous problem space into a great product that solves user problems and creates value. Google interviews are trained to pay particular to the creativity, scalability, and user empathy depicted in candidate’s responses.
Pro tip: Google doesn't actually ask questions about Google very often because the interviewer knows way more about the company then you do, so it's unfair.
Design the web user experience for Lyft.
As a company that owns a search engine, Google PMs have access to an unprecedented amount of data. Analytical questions are used to assess whether candidates can accurately choose data, analyze it, and utilize it to drive forward successful products.
Pro tip: Estimation questions are way more common than metrics questions at Google.
Product managers are often touted as “mini-CEOs.” That is partially true in that PMs get considerable influence in shaping the product vision. Strategy interview questions are meant to assess if candidates are able to zoom out from the micro level product details and think big picture business strategy.
Unlock more premium Google PM interview videos for free
Google’s behavioral interview questions are designed to not only make sure candidates are good product managers, but are a cultural fit for the “Googley-ness” the company prides itself on. Google wants employees that are multi-talented and able to add to the company in different ways, have a clear vision for where they hope to drive the company, and cognizant of their faults despite their accomplishments. Google’s behavioral questions are arguably the easiest part of the interview but far from the least important. Take them as a chance to stand out by having memorable stories prepared beforehand.
Pro tip: Google asks behavioral questions less than most companies, but all interviewers are asked to evaluate you on googleyness. When answering these questions, put your team first, empathize with users, and communicate respectfully.
Google has the highest technical bar for PMs in FAANG. Unlike Facebook and Amazon, the search giant specifically screens for technical aptitude, especially for lower level hires where they expect PMs to be able to get in the weeds with engineers to help guide the more granular technical details of the product. These technical requirements ease up a bit for more senior product leadership roles as then the more micro-level technical issues will likely be delegated to an APM or Project/Program Manager.
Created with the help of 9 current and former Google PMs, including 2 GPMs and 4 Hiring Managers
13 hours of video lessons
Google Company Level Strategic Overview & Monthly Updated Most Common PM Interview Questions
Lifetime access
Tax deductible expense under continuous education category (USA)
In our Flagship Google PM Interview course, you will start off by learning Google’s Ten Year Strategy from insiders so you can begin to think from the perspective of a Google exec. We’ll go deep on hot product areas like Google Cloud, Assistant, YouTube and more!
Then, we will give you a refresher on the art of interviewing covering everything from whiteboarding to body language. We’ll go over what types of estimation, design, technical, and behavioral questions you are most likely to get asked at Google and then walk you through the concrete things that Google interviewers are taught to look for in your response for each question type. We’ll also show you tons of mock interview examples of 10 out of 10 answers with expert interviewer commentary along the way.
Finally, we will share a monthly updated list of interview questions that our team members and past customers have actually gotten during their recent Google PM interviews. With this course, you can take luck out of the equation for getting your dream PM job at Google!
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All the tools you need to land your dream product management job at any tech company
Unlock a 32-minute video lesson to learn how to answer the hardest PM interview questions for FREE!
Copyright © Product Alliance 2023.
This course is independently developed and not endorsed, affiliated with, or sponsored by Google LLC or Alphabet Inc. The use of Google's logo is solely for educational purposes and does not imply any association with Google or Alphabet Inc. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
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