The Harsh Truth of Interviewing & Hiring Product Managers w/ Willis Jackson, Founder of Middle Mile and former 1st PM at Grove Collaborative

Practical Product w/ Jason Evanish

Unfortunately, the product management interview process at most companies is poor. Navigating the interview process, or creating a good one at your company is a tall task.

In this wide-ranging interview we cover both perspectives to help you think about both the perspective of the interviewer and the interviewee.

For the interviewer:

• If you know you'll be hiring down the road, start planning now. Think about the skills you want, the values you want, and the process you'll follow.
• Interviewing is a skill. Spend time reading and learning how to do it well.
• It's much easier to create your interview plan in small, incremental steps leading up to when you need them than being buried, desperately needing help and spread too thin.
• Avoid puzzles, brain teasers, and hypothetical situations that are nothing like the job they'd have. Research shows it has no bearing on evaluating candidates effectively.
• If you're going to make an assignment, make it:
  • A reasonable time request (a few hours, not days worth of effort)
  • Consistently applied to everyone (don't give one person a day and someone else 2 weeks)
  • Involves what the job would really include. (Willis's example is a plan after an experiment / launch fails)
  • Extremely clear what you'll evaluate them on and what you will not. (Like whether you care about design or format)
• Be proactive in communicating with your recruiting team. Enlist their help and expertise to find & close great candidates.
• Remember that hiring the wrong person is extremely expensive in time wasted by your team, cost on your budget, and setbacks on your projects.

For the interviewee:

• Make your resume succinct and include data & numbers as much as covering skills and actions
• If you do not have numbers now, start working on it now. Get in the habit to look up numbers and see what work you did has moved the needle.
• Your resume becomes talking points and great questions in the interview.
• Prepare good questions to ask an interviewee to make sure the company does the kind of product management you like doing.
• Reflect on your current job regularly. Willis recommends weekly journaling on subjects like:
  • What wins have you had recently? What happened?
  • What did you learn from a project that recently didn't go well?
  • What do you enjoy about your work and want future jobs to also offer you?
  • What's changed over time in my notes?

Helpful links mentioned in this episode:

• Work Rules by Laszlo Bock is about Google's learning about HR and People responsibilities, including interview tactics.
• Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart
• Here's Intercom's guide to Product Management ladders and the PDF is here.
• How to Hire a Product Manager by Ken Norton

Learn more and connect with Willis Jackson

• Connect with Willis on LinkedIn
• Follow Willis on Twitter
• Check out Willis' website

Learn more and connect with Jason Evanish:

• Get more product advice on Jason's blog
• For more product advice, thoughts on tech, and more, Follow Jason on Twitter
• You can take your learning to the next level and get coaching from Jason or take his course here

Topics covered with timestamps:

(0:44) - Introducing Willis Jackson

(2:18) - The different types of Product Management and how they affect interviews

(8:09) - How would you recommend a PM build up their hiring and interview skillset?

(12:30) - What resources would you recommend to learn how to do this well?

(17:15) - What are your thoughts on some of the ridiculous hypothetical questions we’ve seen in this industry?

(26:51) - The importance of networking, reputation and interviewing stories

(38:33) - What have you seen specific to assignments for candidates?

(52:43) - How do you feel about discussing company-specific problems with candidates?

(59:13) - How do you look at candidate resumes and how would you recommend people craft their resume?

(1:13:41) - As an interviewer, how can you signal what you’re looking for from a candidate?

(1:22:45) - How can a candidate figure out and advertise what they do and don’t love to do in Product Management?

(1:28:21) - Final thoughts