Solera Product Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty straightforward and faster than I'm used to with bigger companies. It took about 5 weeks from start to finish. First, there was a recruiter call, then some phone interviews with the team management. After that, I had an onsite interview with the executive management team, and they finished it off with a tour of the facility.

After applying online, I first got a call from a recruiter to schedule an interview with the Hiring Manager, who is the Director of PM. The first interview round was a phone interview, split into two parts: one with the Recruiter and another with the Hiring Manager. The Hiring Manager asked about my Product Management experience and Agile Scrum experience, and it went pretty well. Next, I was invited for a first onsite interview where I met with three people individually. First, a Project Manager asked about my Agile Scrum knowledge and their transition to a new platform. Then, the Hiring Manager spent over an hour discussing how I'd approach a mobile app focused on end-users, covering aspects like monetization and requirement gathering. This part was a positive experience. After that, a Sr. Biz Analyst, who initially seemed to have misunderstood my resume, spent about 10 minutes clarifying my background before asking about managing sprint dependencies. I also had the chance to meet with the VP, the Hiring Manager's boss, which felt a bit strange as the VP mainly asked about my willingness to travel and work long hours. They then asked me to come in for a second onsite visit to speak with three more team members. This included two Sr. Product Managers, one of whom challenged my experience with Requirements Management, and another who was new to the company and asked for a detailed explanation of how I'd analyze requirements for a new product. The third person was a Sr. Biz Analyst who clearly explained the role's expectations. After more than 5 hours of interviews spread over 3 weeks, I was told they'd let me know their decision in 2 weeks. When the two weeks passed with no word, I contacted the recruiter, who simply stated they were moving forward with other candidates. Audatex really dropped the ball on decision-making and the interview process itself; after all the time I took off work and two onsite interviews, I didn't even receive a formal rejection or a call.

I started with a 30min HR call where they mostly talked. Then I had to do a recorded video interview. After that, I had a first round with two people who mentioned the company culture and boss are 'peculiar' but said I was a high potential fit despite not having the exact background. Then I had two more interviews the same day with my line manager and lab boss, who were not impressive and didn't say anything positive about the company. The line manager cut me off mid-sentence. Neither asked for questions, I had to ask. Feedback was positive though. I then waited two weeks for a phone interview with the CDO in Dallas who thought I'd be valuable in a more senior role and wanted me to speak with a peer. After another two-week wait, HR told me I didn't have enough Software Development experience, which was apparently not an issue in previous interviews. Avoid Solera, it's shambolic.