The Google Product Management (PM) Interview Guide: Everything You Need to Know

I reached out to insiders at Google to get you the inside scoop on how to actually land a Google PM job

Google is one of the most desirable employers in the field of Product Management.

When I did my MBA at Wharton, I met many international PMs who came to the program primarily for the opportunity to interview at Google!

And it’s no wonder: the company pays the top of the market.

Per the latest levels.fyi data, the company pays Group PMs $708K. That’s a salary only people in finance used to be able to make before the era of big tech.

Google also hires a LOT of product managers. With only 3,600 PMs at Google in 2016, there are an estimated 17,000 now.

That' 21% yearly growth rate of PMs far outpaces the general PM field of 3% in that period.

There’s just one problem…

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The State of Information

I feel like this person perfectly captured the state of information on the Google PM process:

When I was preparing for PM interviews, I found the information - both free and paid websites such as Product School, Reforge, Exponent, IGotAnOffer, IK you name it - on the internet to be too much, too disorganized and too confusing. There are articles and videos that start with PM interview questions and then end up with a very generic advice even a new college grad would not want to use. There are poor answers marketed as “Must Read/Watch before your FAANG interview” that sell common-sense as insights – e.g. “be structured with your answer”. Also, the content seems to be ever increasing — you never know what is enough, it is a game of whack a mole

The majority of the information I found online was flat out wrong or outdated.

But it shouldn’t be that way. The interviews, and whole process, should be well-understood.

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Today’s Post

I’ve written today’s post to be the antidote and give you a to the point update on what’s actually true about the Google Product Management Interview Process. We’ll cover:

1. 4 Common Misconceptions

2. The ACTUAL Google Process

3. Guidance by Interview & Step of Process

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Preamble: The Research

I myself have gone through the Google PM interview process twice, passing it in 2019. But I didn’t want to rely on old information.

Over the past 3 months, I reached out to 8 current Google PMs, 3 former Google PMs, and 2 expert coaches in breaking people into Google. (This includes folks like Alexander Rechevskiy, Nancy Li, and Bilawal Sidhu.)

I also researched every article I could find on the web and paid for all the content.

Here’s what I learned after spending over $1,100 on prep materials and messaging 13 folks…