Prepping for LinkedIn PM Interview
By: Pm Candidate
Tags: Pm Interview, Interview Questions, LinkedIn, Interview Tips, Product Management

Prepping for LinkedIn PM Interview

Although I have been a PM at bay area companies for over 5 years now, interviewing is always an ordeal for me and it takes a mental and emotional toll. I am sure it is the same for many of you. So, after I went through the painful, and rather ugly, process of interviewing at LinkedIn (details of actual interview questions and process here), I was looking for a way to help others benefit from my pain. Hoping this blog meets that goal.

A friend suggested Gayle McDowell/Jackie Bavaro’s “Cracking the PM Interview” and it turned out to be a great book, even though it was more focused on folks new to PM world. Even if you’re an experienced PM like me, I would still recommend reading many of the later chapters in the book. There are also quite a few youtube videos of Gayle, where she explains many of the concepts in the book. You should definitely watch those videos.

I also re-read Lewis C Lin’s “Decode and Conquer” — I had previously read that 4 years ago. Although Gayle’s book is more recent, Lewis really helps clarify the fundamentals. So, based on the readings, LinkedIn recruiter’s email and advice from my classmates, I decided that I needed to work on a number of areas to be fully ready for the interviews.

Product Sense: This is the most critical aspect of being a good PM. I practiced using various frameworks from the books to answer questions such as “What is your favorite product”, “How would you improve Product X”, etc. I researched the feedback from users on LinkedIn. What do users like and what do they dislike. What makes users visit LinkedIn? What makes them engaged? LinkedIn is more than a social media, it is a platform that brings together various parties. Chief among them are Candidates and recruiters who are interested in hiring them. It is also a place for Sales managers to connect with potential clients — especially in B2B. LinkedIn is also an advertising platform — the main audience being the professionals and candidates who come to the platform to engage on the content.

LinkedIn has a premium offering. I signed up for the Premium version to check out the features — focused on the main use case of a candidate seeking a new job. I spent some time investigating the features of Sales Navigator. I read many of the blog posts, watched videos by LinkedIn PMs and employees. I gathered stats on DAUs, demographics, geography, market penetration, etc for LinkedIn website and mobile apps. In short, I tried to cover my base on all aspects of LinkedIn and spent time figuring out what makes the product successful. I worked on suggestions to improve various aspects of the app and website. I spent time analyzing the strengths and weakness of the Premium offering. I wrote out some of the answers in Google Slides in bullet points to make sure that I could articulate my ideas clearly during the interview. I spent time on slideshare and analyzed how the traffic from slideshare contributes to LinkedIn’s ecosystem.

Product Strategy: I re-read some of the notes from MBA days on common strategy frameworks. I solved some of the cases in Marc P. Cosentino’s “Case in Point” (primarily geared towards MBA students wanting to work in Strategy Consulting, but still useful for PM interviews) to refresh my case solving skills. The book also has some great advice on how to approach any interview.

I went through Microsoft’s 10-K (annual report) to get an understanding of LinkedIn’s revenues’, profitability, future plans, etc. I searched for articles and analysis of Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn — tried to understand the rationale behind the purchase and long term plans. I watched some of the videos by Jeff Weiner on his vision for the company. I read many strategy blogs on Social Media in general and LinkedIn in particular, to determine LinkedIn’s strategic position. I also tried to identify competitors in each area that LinkedIn is involved in (recruitment, sales lead generation, advertising, career development and education). Identified strengths and weaknesses in each area. I read up on slideshare acquisition and how it fits with LinkedIn’s long term goals.

Communication & Collaboration: I knew that to be a good PM, you have to be succinct and articulate. While I do a reasonably good job at my current position, in a tense interview setting, sometimes I ramble. I realized that 2 years ago when I went through a couple of interviews. So, I worked on tightening up communication. Taking the time to collect my thoughts and using frameworks to answer standard questions. This may vary significantly from person to person, but it is important to be self aware. If you are not sure, you should do mock interviews with friends who can give you honest feedback. I worked on stories that showcased my ability to collaborate with other PMs, stakeholders, etc to launch new product features.

Data Analysis & Metrics: As a PM, you often live and die by Data — if you cannot identify the critical metrics, you cannot hope for your product to succeed. Often, teams end up focusing on vanity metrics that really don’t lead to anything actionable. So, I spent time reading up on the metrics that matter to LinkedIn. What is LinkedIn really looking for — is it increase in DAU, increased registration, etc. After much analysis, I ended up focusing on engagement metrics (turns out it was the right metric as validated by some of the interviewers during the on-site). You should spend time finding the right metric for each company that you plan to interview with. They will almost never be the same.

Personal Story & Leadership skills: I worked on common questions like: “Tell me about yourself” , “What is your greatest accomplishment as a PM”, “what are your strengths and weaknesses”, “Tell me about a conflict at work and how you reacted to it”, “Tell me about a time you disagreed with your boss and how did you resolve the disagreement?”, etc. For each question, I identified situations at my past and current job, which would be good examples and used the STAR format to narrate events. I created a google spreadsheet, listed out each of these questions and wrote out the answers for each — one story from each of my last 3 jobs.

Finally, “Why do you want to work for LinkedIn” is a question that was to be expected, so I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my background and values and trying to associate that to LinkedIn company culture, values and mission. I was able to harmonize my values with the company mission and come up with a narrative that seemed to impress at least one of the interviewers. Without delving too much into my response, I would suggest that you should also take a similar approach.

Hope this helps — feel free to post feedback and questions below.