PARTech Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

I was first contacted by a PAR recruiter on 6/25 for a VP of Product role. I spoke with the GM (hiring manager) on 7/1, then interviewed with two other leaders. After that, one of them reached out on 7/10 to say I wasn't selected for the VP role but there was an opening for Sr Director of Product, which he thought I'd be a good fit for. He hadn't interviewed me himself but said he'd figure out an interview process. After I heard nothing and followed up, I figured it was a no-go, but then the recruiter called me on 7/23 asking if I was still interested (after *they* went silent for 2 weeks!). He said I only had 2 more people to meet before a decision. I met them that week and heard nothing back despite following up. On 8/7, the recruiter told me they were adding another step: a case study presentation to the CEO, Hiring Manager, and others on 8/9. Later that afternoon, the recruiter called to say it was between me and another candidate and I was their choice, pending reference checks. The CEO wanted to call 10-15 references (which I'd never heard of!). I gave them the references a few days later and started discussing a start date. I tried to schedule a call with the hiring manager to discuss details, but the recruiter brushed me off, and the hiring manager never responded even when I bypassed the recruiter. Things got weirder during reference checks; one reference told me they were asked, "If this candidate (me) was to get fired from a job, and it wasn't a layoff, what would this candidate be fired for?". Other references felt interrogated and uneasy, warning me not to take the job. Some scheduled calls were ghosted. After the last interview on 8/9, I followed up multiple times over 6+ weeks with little info. On 9/10, the recruiter said a decision would be made by 9/19. No response after that. Finally, on 10/1, the hiring manager emailed to set up a call to discuss feedback. He said he wanted more insight into my opinions from the case study, even though it wasn't specified, and used the reference calls to try and get that insight but couldn't. He basically used my references as interviews and asked them about my opinions/perspectives from people I hadn't worked with in 5+ years - questions he never asked me directly and I never got to answer. I had tried reaching out to both the recruiter and hiring manager multiple times to get time with the hiring manager about these very questions but never got a response. This whole experience was bizarre and unprofessional, and my references felt the same way. I felt it was important to share this detailed experience to warn others.

The whole interview process was remote. I had four separate interviews with different team members. The first was an introduction with HR. The second was with a Senior PM and HR, and involved solving a mini-case. The third interview was with the Group Product Manager and HR, focusing on my usual processes and how I handle complex releases. The final interview was with the CPO and HR, assessing my fit with the company and the product role.

I applied for Product Manager in Markham Ontario. The first interview was with HR, covering behavioral questions and some role-specific ones. It felt like average difficulty. The second interview was with the hiring manager, but it felt like he had already decided against me before we started. I spent an hour listening to him, and he didn't explain the role or the product, which made me feel like he wasn't interested.