Newsela Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

I applied on Sept 3rd and got an email on Sept 24th asking for availability for a screener call. I replied right away but heard nothing. After two days, I emailed to confirm they got my availability, and still nothing. I waited another 4 days and sent another email on Sept 30th, still no response. Then on Monday, Oct 6th, they finally sent an email scheduling a 15-min phone screener for the very next day. Even though I had shared my availability weeks ago and it might have changed, I accepted the calendar invite. The next day, a few minutes into what should have been the call, I realized the email had asked me to reply to confirm my phone number, which I hadn't done. I quickly sent an email apologizing for not confirming my number and confirming it. As expected, I never got a call. About 20 minutes later, I emailed again saying I hoped everything was okay and I still wanted to reschedule. I never heard back. This was the worst recruiting experience ever.

This company's interview process was very scattered and unprofessional, making it hard to get excited about them. After weeks of the recruiter saying "we're super excited about you! Just one more conversation and we'll give you the written job offer," they sent an offer at 10 PM that expired the next business day at 5 PM. I asked for an extension to review the terms, which was grudgingly granted despite prior agreement for a week. Two days later, they cancelled the offer because they had concerns I wasn't excited enough, even though I intended to sign but needed a couple of days to review. They went completely dark afterwards, showing disregard. This unprofessional behavior seems to be a pattern.

I went through a few rounds of interviews with the Newsela team and really enjoyed learning about them. I regret not getting the chance to work there, especially since the recruiter was so open and considerate. Even though I didn't get the job, I learned a lot. I discovered Teresa Torres and her product management process, as her article was mentioned in my case study. I also learned a lot about what a strong product management process looks like and how to be a good PM for design, tech, and business teams based on what the team shared.