Google Product Leader told me the Mistakes 99% of Candidates make in Product Management Interviews

Google PM Leader

“ I’ll be honest: I’ve seen a lot of product management interviews where things went south, not because the candidate lacked skills, but because of subtle but critical mistakes. These mistakes can happen to the best of us, even with plenty of experience. ”

You are preparing for PM interviews

You are doing a lot of Mocks

Still, you are not able to crack the PM interview.

You may be preparing the Wrong way or the Old way.

1. Mistake: Not using FIRST Principle Thinking and using Old Age Frameworks

Imagine a simple-looking question — Improve Twitter for Blind People

Candidate 1 — Why do we want to improve? What metrics are we optimising for, etc etc?

These are surface-level questions which you might have seen in some YouTue video.

World has move beyond that, it’s 2025 — It’s time for First Principle thinking and Critical Probelm solvingthinking and First

First it’s important to see Why People even use Twitter ? If we have to improve Twitter for Blind People, what aspect we need to take care of ?

Another Example

Imagine a simple-looking question — Design a Birthday app

This looks like an easy question, but many people freeze while answering this question.

They just start rambling and not thinking from the first principle

The top 1% of the Candidates will think this way

First Principle Breakdown of the problem

You need to break down the problem using first-principle thinking.

If you don’t do it, you might miss a lot of important points like employers celebrating employee birthdays, and the Brand celebrating customer’s birthdays, correct? If you don’t break it down it will be really difficult to answer like the top 1%

2. Missing the Big Picture & Strategic Thinking

Imagine you get a question like — How would you improve Spotify

Questions by Rest 99%

1. What is the Goal of Improving Spotify? What are we trying to achieve from this?
2. Are we improving Spotify for a particular type of Device like Mobile or Desktop? Any specific geography?
3. Is there any Resource Constraint in terms of Technology / Monetary or any Time Constraint I should be aware of?

Questions by top 1%

1. What is the goal of Improving Spotify, as Spotify is a very big Product having verticals like Music, Podcast etc? So Are we trying to improve any specific vertical maybe podcast, given the rising popularity of podcasts across the Globe? Is it about improving Discoverability, improving user retention etc?
2. Is there any particular Customer Segment are targeting like (Audio) Content Creators or Content Consumers? Given the rise of Generative AI, it has become more easy to produce content. So Are we thinking of improving from Creator’s Perspective or Consumers’ Perspective or may be advertisers?

See the depth of questions and strategic thinking ( not asking questions just for the sake of asking it )

3. Mistake: Rambling Without a Clear Point

Ever been halfway through explaining a solution only to realize you’re lost in your own explanation?

It happens a lot in interviews.

You get excited, launch into a stream of thoughts, and before you know it, you’ve spent five minutes talking without landing on a clear point.

It’s frustrating for you — and for the interviewer, who might be wondering if you can present your ideas concisely.

• The Fix: Practice the “STAR” (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method. Structure your answer by first explaining the context (Situation), then what needed to be done (Task), followed by what you actually did (Action), and finally, the outcome (Result). Before each response, pause, take a breath, and organize your thoughts.
• Example: Instead of rambling on about how you developed a new feature, say: “We had a high drop-off rate during onboarding (Situation). My goal was to improve retention by 15% (Task). I led a team to simplify the process by reducing steps and adding tooltips (Action). In the end, we improved retention by 20% in three months (Result).” Short, specific, and powerful.

4. Mistake: Forgetting to Use Data or Customer Insights

One interview I watched was going well — until the candidate was asked how they’d prioritize features for a new app. They had some interesting ideas, but their answers stayed high-level, with no mention of user data or feedback. Without data, your decisions can feel arbitrary, and PMs are expected to make data-driven decisions.

• The Fix: Anchor your answers in data or user research. When discussing your ideas, mention relevant metrics (like user engagement or retention) or insights from user interviews. Even if you’re hypothesizing, suggest that you’d validate assumptions with data.
• Example: Instead of saying, “I’d prioritize a recommendation feature because it’s popular,” say, “Based on user interviews, we found that users struggle with content discovery. To address this, I’d start with a recommendation feature, aiming to increase weekly active users by 15%.”
• Why It Matters: Data-driven answers show that you’re a PM who makes decisions based on facts and research. It reassures the interviewer that you understand the importance of customer insights and metrics in guiding product choices.

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3. Module 3 — How to Solve Guesstimates
4. Module 4 — Cracking Product Design Questions
5. Module 5 — Cracking the “Favourite Product Question”
6. Module 6 — Cracking Metrics & Product Execution Questions
7. Module 7 — Cracking Root Cause Analysis Questions
8. Module 8 — Cracking Growth Strategy & Pricing Questions
9. Module 9 — Cracking Market Entry & GTM Questions
10. Module 10 — Cracking Behavioral Interview Questions