Setting strategy is a critical part of the day-to-day job of a product manager. Strategy questions can be as ambiguous and open-ended as product design questions. To make things worse, compared to product design, there isn’t a one-size-fit-all framework to talk about product strategy. What should we do then?

First of all, the secret sauce of good strategy answers consists of two parts, clear structure and industry knowledge.

Clear structure

• Classic strategy frameworks, e.g. SWOT, Porter’s five forces, 4P marketing mix, 4C; or
• Any DIY frameworks as long as they are helpful for structuring answers so that interviewers can follow you more…

“Do you have any questions for me?”

Interviewers usually give you time to ask questions at the end of PM interviews. If you are familiar with the concept of recency bias, you would know that whatever you say most recently has a disproportionate effect on how the interviewer perceives you. That’s why this question is very important and can be DANGEROUS if you don’t handle it carefully.

It is still part of the interview, not your due diligence time.

Do your due diligence outside of interviews. Don’t ask about what you truly want to know if it’s NOT going to help your candidacy.

Many of you might say interview is a two-way selection process. My view is why taking…

“What’s your favorite product?” is probably the most popular PM interview question, ever. You will always get asked about your favorite product. Period.

The first secret is that this question is so popular because the interviewer doesn’t need to prepare anything.

Just kidding... The true reason is that “What’s Your Favorite Product” is probably the best question to test a candidate’s fundamental understanding of product. This applies to any job that requires a spirit of craftsmanship, e.g. architect, designer, musician, chef. By asking this question, the interviewer will get a good sense of your passion and appreciation for product, as…

Creativity is an important competency for PMs but it’s also a tricky one to learn. Many friends asked me to teach them how to be creative, as I managed to check the creativity box in my PM interview and spent one summer working at IDEO, a global design and innovation firm. This post will give you both frameworks and concrete examples to help you come up with creative answers to product design questions.

You can also read my other post [Episode 1] How to land a PM job without PM experience for general PM interview prep tips.

If a banker can be creative, why can’t you?

PM candidates coming…

Recently, Product Management (PM) jobs have become one of the most popular career options for graduates from top MBA schools following consulting and finance. At the heart of Silicon Valley, the question I got asked most often has also changed from “How can I get into Stanford GSB?” to “How can I land a PM job like you?”

Many people chase after a PM career because PM is often regarded as the Product CEO. Even thought the title seems pretty eye-catchy, the reality is that PMs have no authority over anybody. Your everyday would be spent on attending an average…

Back to Hong Kong, I would like to type down my thoughts while they are still fresh. The following lines are not simply reminders of what I have experienced in the past week but also seeds of inspiration which will continue to grow when I am back to regular life.

Always try to look at things from the positive side. It may not be intuitive under all circumstances but it is a habit that can be developed over time. Being constructive and cheerful is a precious trait for us all. It will encourage us to keep moving forward bravely and…

Living the life we want is not always as beautiful as angels singing but not having the courage to try means either we are not sure what exactly we want or we care too much about how people think about us. There are no easy ways to make changes to our lives and that’s probably why life coaching comes into being in the first place. …

Imagine there is a smart and confident guy who gave a diamond ring to a beautiful young lady. Interestingly, this guy didn’t bother to speak to her again in a year time. One day, he decided to propose to her and was confident that his attractiveness and generosity would earn him a big YES. However, it turned out that she turned him down. Instead of talking to this lady, he gave more expensive diamond rings to more ladies to increase his chance of success while still not keeping contact with any of them afterwards. No surpsie. …