One interview question earned Senior Technical Product Manager Andriy Osypenko an offer in 10 seconds. He explained what needed to be done to make it work.
One interview question earned Senior Technical Product Manager Andriy Osypenko an offer in 10 seconds. He explained what needed to be done to make it work.
"I'm sitting in the final interview. Everything is going well, but I feel something is wrong. The hiring manager answers questions formally, clearly thinking about something of his own. And then it's my time to ask questions," Andriy wrote on LinkedIn.
So the Product Manager said the following: "Listen, I used to work in a similar domain. We had a problem with [specific technical problem]. I wonder how you handle it? Because we tried x and y, but it worked so-so."
According to Andriy, this immediately caught the person's attention: "For the next 15 minutes, she pours out all her pain on me. She tells me in detail how they tried to fix it, what didn't work, where they got stuck. At this point, I already know - the offer is mine."
The Product Manager believes this worked for three reasons:
Andriy also explained what not to do : “I read your article about the company culture, it’s very interesting!” It feels like flattery. The hiring manager can hear it a mile away.”
The specialist advises finding out additional information about the manager, namely:
Andriy also shared his favorite question formulas:
The Product Manager emphasized that it is important to understand that an interview is a professional dialogue with a potential colleague.
"If after your question a person starts sharing the team's pain, congratulations, you're practically on the team."
Andriy advises spending time on research, rather than searching Google for the most common interview questions.
"The best questions don't come from Googling 'top 10 interview questions', but from a real understanding of the company's business and technical challenges. Invest time in research — it will pay off," concludes the Product Manager.
