Mindbody Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

We had 6 interviews covering core PM skills. It kicked off with a People team screen, then a chat with the hiring manager. Next up was a business case with a peer, checking logic and product thinking. After that, I spoke with stakeholders in Marketing and Engineering. The final stage involved another business case, this time with a group of senior product leaders.

I applied online and it took about five weeks for a recruiter to reach out. They sent some screening questions via email, said they'd schedule an interview, and then disappeared for five days. I had to nudge them to get something scheduled. Before the interview with the hiring manager, the recruiter called to give me some context. The whole process seemed unnecessarily complicated, even for tech, so I wasn't super excited for the initial call. The hiring manager call was 45 minutes via Zoom and covered standard background and behavioral questions. The manager seemed a bit annoyed and not very interested in me. The call felt odd. I was told I'd get feedback from the recruiter within 24 hours, but it took five days and was an automated rejection email. It was an off-putting experience, but probably for the best since they expected two live case studies and several other meetings. Two case studies in one loop is a new one for me, so I guess I dodged a bullet.

I was referred by a friend and former employee who emailed my resume in early June. A couple of weeks later, a recruiter contacted me and after a 20-minute screening call to ensure my background, education, and values aligned with the role, we began the process. The next interview was with the Senior Director and Director of Product Management. I researched their backgrounds, noting their Intuit PM alums status and Agile focus, and their design certifications from Stanford. I prepared to discuss MINDBODY's technology stack and goal-directed design. This involved analyzing their technical job postings to understand their architectural direction, reviewing competitor UI/UX/Data flow, revisiting my Cooper Design materials, and consulting with friends at larger tech companies about database and mobile design. On the interview day, I reflected on leading with a servant leader mindset focused on the end-user, connecting it to my past projects that empowered less tech-savvy users with user-friendly tools for complex results. However, the interview focused more on organizational politics and influence tactics, with some unusual questions reminiscent of early tech interviews, rather than Agile, goal-directed design, or technology application to user problems. I felt I didn't perform well. A week later, the recruiter informed me I would proceed to a homework project. I received the assignment and access to MINDBODY's mobile and web apps. The task was to pitch the next quarter's roadmap to executives. I identified a growing ease-of-use gap for competitors at the lower end of their upgrade path and issues with the web-to-mobile workflow. My pitch focused on streamlining UI/UX across platforms and improving the marketing workflow. Two weeks later, I was told they were seeking a PM with more payments experience and that my candidacy was no longer being considered due to a shift in focus. After reflecting, I decided to express my continued strong interest in the company, even being willing to take a pay cut and a step back in my career to transition to another role because I believe in their mission. I emailed the recruiter expressing interest in a project management role. I completed a form detailing my P&L accountability for hardware/software and mobile projects as a scrum master, product owner, and project manager. The feedback was that I was too product-focused. Over these two months, I gained insights into MINDBODY's technology and culture. I believe they should be mindful of alienating new or scaling fitness professionals as they pursue their cloud payments strategy and beware of groupthink and managing upward, as it seems they may be approaching a cultural inflection point where bureaucracy's benefits diminish.