| Topic Name: |
phone interview |
| Message Name: |
For APM... |
| Date Posted: |
08/18/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
I had three phone interviews for an associate product marketing manager position. The interviewers were either other APMMs or regular product marketing managers (post MBA). No interviewer seemed very experienced at interviewing. They each had their own different style.
They all started off with "why do i want to work for google" questions, then generic resume questions "tell me more about this or that," and then some toughie personal assessment questions like "what are you least proud of" etc etc.
Next came the technical part, where they gave me general marketing questions. These had to do with either coming up with a promotional strategy for google's product X, or choosing my own product and talking about promoting it, or what are some ads I've liked and disliked. It pays to know their products and business model inside and out.
I was also asked to "explain them something technical," of my choosing. To evaluate my communication skills, I presume.
There were no real "fit" questions other than the above.
My suggestion is to prepare like you would for an in-person interview. Know your resume cold, and prepare standard answers to standard questions (you can find lists of typical interview questions all over the place).
The main benefit of a phone interview is that you can have notes in front of you. I wrote up a cheat sheet of any and all marketing concepts, examples and formulas, as well as specific info on their company and products. Thsi really helped me guide my responses.
Certain answers, like "why do you want to work for google," i wrote up and basically read verbatim. This is the advantage of a phone interview.
Other general advice - SMILE while you are talking, stand up, and look in a mirror. That helps you have a confident voice. It really makes a
As for follow up - I heard back usually within a week. Sometimes the next day if it went well. They were disorganized a few times so after a week if you haven't heard, send an email to the recruiters.
I got through all the phone interviews well, and then was flown in for on-site interviews. I thought that 7 out of my 10 (yes 10) interviews went well, and the other three absolutely dismal. The dismal ones were with the big bosses, so you can imagine that I didn't get the job.
Alright, good luck. Don't ask me for more info because that's all I'm giving :) |
| Message: |
They ask you about prior experience, why you want to work at Google, and so on, but you already knew that.
Big question they ask:
What is Google's WORST product?
I got asked that twice, once on the phone and once on-site. Be prepared to answer that!
Once you give your answer, they will go on FOREVER (maybe up to 30 minutes) asking you how to improve it. They will continuously throw you curveballs in the process. Be prepared to think on your feet!
Also, they asked me how I would improve the air travel process. Considering all the B.S. you have to go through to get on a plane these days, there are a million places you could go with that.
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