Slack Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty good overall, but it took quite a while for them to get back to me, even after we went through several interview rounds. I started with an initial chat with HR, then spoke with a senior Product Manager, and after that, I had another interview with a group Product Manager.

First, there was a screening call with the recruiter, followed by a one-on-one call with a VP of Product. After that, I completed a take-home assignment and presented it to a 4-person panel. Finally, I had four one-on-one interviews with each of the panelists. This was my first time interviewing with a big software company that hosts a "product sense" interview, which I didn't fully grasp during the interview. After the interview, I researched it, and it made more sense. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the "product sense" interview if it's your first time interviewing.

Had 1-2 phone chats with the recruiter first. Then, a phone interview with the hiring manager, who was really approachable and seemed like a good fit. After that, it was in person. Started with a friendly chat with the hiring manager and recruiter in the lobby. Then I met with several people from the team and other departments. The last person I met was a peer to the hiring manager. Everyone was great, except for the very last interviewer. She was late, and the hiring manager was about to call it off when she arrived, looking a bit messy. Instead of a friendly hello, she was distant, created a barrier, and took charge of the conversation. She didn't shake my hand and sat on the far side of the room, making me adjust where I was sitting. She started abruptly, saying something like, 'This is an informational interview, so I'll ask questions and you'll answer with real examples from your experience. If we have time at the end, you can ask me questions – got it?' I tried to explain that the other interviews were similar, but she insisted. Her first question was, 'Tell me about a time when scope changed on a project and how did you handle it.' I gave several examples, but avoided specific project details or company names to comply with NDAs, presenting different scenarios based on the impact of the change depending on when it happened and how complex it was. She just stared coldly and said, 'That's fine. If you can't think of any actual examples from your experience, you can use theory. That's acceptable.' I was surprised, wondering if she thought I just read project management books and made up theories for five scenarios instead of using my 20 years of experience. When I asked her about working at the company, her answers were short and didn't address my questions, like 'It's fine.' I thought everyone else was wonderful, but the final interviewer seemed unprepared and like she had already made up her mind. The hiring manager asked how it went, and I said I enjoyed meeting everyone and that the last interviewer was challenging. I didn't say anything negative, but he immediately replied, 'She used to be a kindergarten teacher - she talks to all of us that way [like we're children].' From what I gathered from my questions to her, we wouldn't have worked closely, so I'm still confused why she was part of the interview panel.