30 Facebook Product Manager Interview Questions

Posted on 5/7/2022, 2:18:08 PM

Interviewing as a Product Manager for Facebook might seem hard. Facebook has strict screening procedures. However, you can excel with proper preparation and a good mentor. This blog post will help you with the interview process.

To book a call with top product manager mentors who work at leading companies like Facebook and Google, click here.

The Facebook Product Manager interview process from sending your resume, cover letter, and referrals to the onsite interview takes about 4-8 weeks. 

Here are the PM interview categories:

• Product Sense - The purpose of these interviews is to evaluate your basic Product Management abilities.
• Execution - These interviews evaluate your ability to execute, monitor, and improve Product Management tasks.
• Leadership and Drive - These interviews will evaluate your leadership abilities.

The process:

1. The HR phone screen is a behavioral interview with hiring managers. They will ask you to explain your background and why you're a good fit for Facebook. They might ask you about a product you launched from start to finish.
2. PM Phone Screen with two existing product managers. These are product sense and execution interviews. After the PM phone screens, the two interviewers will have 24 hours to submit their ratings and notes to an internal system. The recruiter reviews the feedback and decides to move to the onsite interview based on how well you've done.
3. Onsite interviews - There are three onsite interviews for each category mentioned above.
4. Finally, the hiring committee, which includes senior leaders from Facebook, reviews your application and decides your level and compensation.

According to Glassdoor, here are some top questions Facebook usually asks during the PM interview process.

Product Sense Questions

During the interview process, you want to show that you are obsessed with the users. Because Facebook PMs decide what problems to work on and develop solutions, they need robust product design and strategy skills. 

You want to demonstrate the following skills.

• Can you identify the target audience and their problems?
• Can you create value?
• Can you make the right design choices?
• Can you handle critique, limitations, and feedback?

Here are a typical Product Sense Questions

• How would you improve Facebook groups?
• Should Facebook enter the dating / jobs market?
• What should Facebook do next?
• Pick a Facebook app / any product — how would you improve it?
• Design a social travel product for our company?

When you answer this question, get on the same page as the interviewer on what a social travel product is. Then explain how you would go about designing a fantastic travel experience with this product. 

• How would you decide whether or not to accept payments via messenger?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself

Can you compete with the competitors who already do this?
Is it the right time to enter the payment processing market?
Should you partner with an existing payment merchant instead?

• Design a jobs product for Facebook
• Design a product to help users find a doctor on Facebook

Execution Questions

Facebook is data-driven. Once PMs decide what problems to solve and what to build, they need to execute. It would be best if you showed that you also care about data and have strong prioritization and analytical skills. 

• Can you set the right goals for a product and use the right metrics to measure them?
• Can you determine and analyze the tradeoffs?
• Can you solve problems?
• Can you set your team up for success?

Facebook wants to see how excellent you are at the nitty-gritty of product management. Make sure that you think about the root causes of problems, develop tradeoffs, and determine the right metrics to measure success. 

Here are a few Execution questions

• How could you measure the success of Facebook Lite? 

Facebook Lite is a lighter and faster version of the Facebook app. To answer this question, think about the following:

How is the current app doing relative to Facebook Lite?
How is the product doing in relevant regions?

and so on

Then come up with ideas to make the app better.

• How would you measure the success of the marketplace?

The Facebook marketplace allows you to buy and sell used and new items. 

To measure the success of the marketplace, think about 

The number of items sold or bought daily
How many users contact each other on the platform?

Look at trends.
Make forecasts.
Compare the data with other marketplaces.

• How would you improve NewsFeed?

Newsfeed is Facebook's central feature. To understand why the usage of Newsfeed is declining, analyze user feedback. Based on data and feedback, prioritize fixes and develop ideas to improve the experience.

• What metrics would you use to measure the success of Facebook ads?

To answer this question, look at the overall ad spend over a fixed period and then look at the figures for different types of ads. 

• You are the PM for Facebook pages — what features would you prioritize?
• You are the PM for Facebook posts — what reactions should we add next?
• How would you set goals and measure success for Facebook notifications?
• Facebook groups usage dropped 10% — what do you do?

Leadership and Drive questions

You must be able to motivate a team, resolve conflicts, build relationships, and work well with others. You want to show that you have drive and empathy. 

• Can you earn the trust of a team and take ownership?
• Can you learn from your mistakes?
• Can you motivate your team?
• Can you handle difficult situations?

Facebook wants to see that you are the right culture fit. 

Here are some sample questions that they ask.

• What are the most vital skills for a PM?- What does a PM mean to you? 
• Describe a recent experience you had managing/leading a team - Share your experience supervising a team, communicating with team members, and being held accountable for results.
• How would you go about prioritizing/allocating resources?
• Describe a time you failed? - If you didn't achieve your goals, what would you do.
• Why Facebook?
• Why product management?
• What's your biggest accomplishment?
• What's a good PM / bad PM?
• Tell me about a product you lead from idea to launch
• Tell me about a time you overcame a really difficult challenge
• Tell me about a time you managed a conflict / disagreement in a team

Preparation tips

To prepare for the interview, do the following.

1. Please do your research about Facebook and its competitors. 
2. Book a call with a mentor on MentorDial. A mentor can support you through the process. Plus, they've gone through the process themselves and will have valuable insights.
3. Practice by yourself and with your peers
4. Brush up on PM concepts

Finally, don't worry. You got this! Preparation is key to this process. With the proper preparation and a good mentor, you can succeed. We're always here to help when you need it.