Facebook / Meta PM interview (questions, prep, and process)

PM interviews are really challenging. The questions are difficult, specific to Facebook (Meta), and cover a wide range of topics.

The good news is that the right preparation can make a big difference and help you land a Product Manager job at Facebook. We have put together the ultimate guide to help you maximize your chances of success.

Here's an overview of what we will cover:

• Process and timeline
• Example questions
• Product sense
• Execution
• Leadership & Drive
• Preparation tips

1. Interview process and timeline ↑

1.1 What interviews to expect

What's the Facebook (Meta) PM interview process and timeline? It takes four to eight weeks on average and follows these steps:

1. Resume, cover letter, and referrals
2. HR phone screen: one interview
3. PM phone screen: two interviews
4. PM on-site: three interviews

Resume screening

First, recruiters will look at your resume and assess if your experience matches the open position. This is the most competitive step in the process—we’ve found that ~90% of candidates don’t make it past this stage.

You can use this free guide to help tailor your resume to the position you’re targeting. 

And if you’re looking for expert feedback, you can also get input from our team of ex-Facebook recruiters, who will cover what achievements to focus on (or ignore), how to fine tune your bullet points, and more.

HR phone screen

Next, you'll start your interview process by talking to an HR recruiter on the phone. They are looking to confirm that you've got a chance of getting the job at all, so be prepared to explain your background and why you’re a good fit at Facebook. You should expect typical behavioral and resume questions like, "Tell me about yourself," "Why Facebook?" or, "Tell me about a product you launched from start to finish."

PM phone screen / On-site

If you get past this first HR screen, the recruiter will then help schedule the first interview, which will be done over the phone with Facebook PMs. One great thing about Facebook is that they are very transparent about their recruiting process. Your HR contact will therefore walk you through the types of questions interviewers will ask in subsequent rounds and also share this helpful Meta PM interview guide PDF with you.

Each interview you do with Facebook will take 45mins and follow one of three themes:

• Product sense, where you'll be tested on your product design and strategy skills
• Execution (Analytical thinking), where you'll be tested on your data analysis and prioritization skills
• Leadership & Drive, where you'll be asked to demonstrate that you are an empathetic leader

At the phone screen stage you will typically get one Product sense and one Execution interview. And at the on-site stage you will typically get one of each type of interviews (three in total).

If you're applying for Facebook's entry-level Rotational Product Manager program, the interview process is similar, and you can learn more about it in this guide. If you are interviewing for a product leadership position (VP, Director, Group PM), learn more about the process and how to prepare here.

For extra help, take a look at our list of 15 top PM interview tips.

1.2 What happens behind the scenes

2. Example questions ↑

Let's dive in and look at the three types of interviews you can expect at Facebook: Product sense, Execution, and Leadership & drive. We've analyzed questions reported by former Facebook PM candidates on Glassdoor.com and identified the top ten most frequently asked questions for each interview type, listed below.

2.1 Product sense interview questions ↑

Facebook PMs decide what problems their teams work on and help design solutions for these problems. It's therefore important that they have strong product design and product strategy skills.

This is the part of the interview process where you should show that you're obsessed with the user. Here are a few of the skills Facebook is looking for when asking product sense questions.

• How you identify who to build for and what their needs are
• How you focus on creating value and impact
• How you make intentional design choices
• How you handle critique, constraints, and new data

We've listed the top ten product sense questions that Facebook tends to ask, according to data from Glassdoor. As you'll notice below these questions are a mix of product design, product improvement and product strategy questions. We recommend studying the articles we've written on each topic to learn how to answer these questions in a structured and impactful way.

Exercise: Watch the videos below to see how ex-Facebook PMs answer two different product sense questions: "How would you design an antiques marketplace?" and "How would you improve Facebook groups? Pause the videos throughout so that you can construct your own answers and see how they compare. 

To look at the product sense interview in a bit more detail, check out our comprehensive guide.

2.2 Execution interview questions ↑

Once PMs have decided what problem to solve and what features to build, it's time to execute! Facebook prides itself on being a data-driven organization so it's essential that you show you’re data-driven, too.

This is the part of the interview to display that you have strong analytical and prioritization skills. Here are a few of the things Facebook is looking for when asking execution questions:

• How you set the right goals for a product and measure against them
• How you identify, frame, and evaluate trade-offs
• How you analyze and debug problems
• How you set your team up for success

We've listed the top ten execution questions that Facebook tends to ask, according to data from Glassdoor. Once again, it's a good idea to develop a framework to answer these questions.

For more information, check out our article on how to ace the Facebook execution interview.

Exercise: Watch the video below to see how an ex-Facebook PM answers the question "How would prioritize WhatsApp features?". Pause the video throughout so that you can construct your own answer and see how it compares.

Exercise: Watch the video below to see how an ex-Facebook PM answers the question "How would you set goals for Instagram reels?". Pause the video throughout so that you can construct your own answer and see how it compares.

2.3 Leadership & drive interview questions ↑

PMs work with a range of different collaborators: engineers, designers, data analysts, etc. They need to be able to motivate their team, resolve conflicts, drive alignment, build relationships, and work with others.

This is the part of the interview where you really want to show that you've got drive and empathy. Here are a few of the skills that Facebook is looking for during the leadership & drive interview:

• How you earn trust and take ownership
• How you process and grow from past experiences
• How you support the people around you
• How you overcome difficult situations

We've listed the top ten leadership & drive questions that Facebook tends to ask, according to data from Glassdoor. For more information, check out our article on how to answer behavioral interview questions and the "Why Facebook?" question.

3. Preparation tips ↑

Now that you know what questions to expect, let's focus on preparation. 

Below, you’ll find links to free resources and four introductory steps to help you prepare for your Facebook PM interviews.

Alternatively, if you’re looking to save time and access everything you need in one place, we recommend taking the Facebook product manager interview course. The course includes lessons on how to answer all question types, examples of high-quality answers, mock interview videos, and more than 300 practice questions.

3.1 Deep dive into the product / organization

As you've probably figured out from the example questions listed above, you can't become a PM at Facebook without being familiar with the company's products and its organization. You'll therefore need to do some homework before your interviews.

Here are some resources to help you get started with this:

• Facebook annual reports and strategy presentations (by Facebook)
• Facebook's approach to latest tech trends (by CB Insights)
• Facebook's products teardown (by HowDo)
• Facebook org culture analysis (by Panmore Institute)

3.2 Learn a consistent method for answering PM interview questions

As mentioned previously, Facebook will ask you questions that fall into certain categories like behavioral, design, strategy, estimation, and metric questions. Approaching each question with a predefined method will enable you to build strong interview habits.

Then, when it comes time for your interviews, these habits will reduce your stress and help you to make a great impression.

If you’re just looking for a jumping-off point, you can start learning about the different question types you’ll need to master in the following blog articles:

• Behavioral questions
• Product design questions
• Product improvement questions
• Favorite product question
• Strategy questions
• Estimation questions
• Metric questions
• Prioritization questions

Alternatively, if you’re looking for more guidance on what to focus on for Facebook interviews, then we recommend signing up to the Facebook product manager interview course. You’ll learn the relevant methods over the course of six detailed lessons, each with its own actionable to-do list to keep you on track. 

Once you understand how to answer each question type, you also need to be able to communicate your answers clearly, under the pressure of interview conditions. That’s where practice comes into play.

3.3 Practice by yourself or with peers

In our experience, practicing by yourself is a great way to prepare for PM interviews. You can start practicing alone, asking and answering questions out loud, to help you get a feel for the different types of PM interview questions. It will help you perfect your step-by-step approach for each question type. And it also gives you time to correct your early mistakes.

You can find free practice questions on articles like this one or on YouTube. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a comprehensive database of PM interview questions as well as high quality answers from ex-Meta interviewers, then check out our Meta PM interview course.

If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's a great option too. This can be especially helpful if your friend has experience with PM interviews, or is at least familiar with the process.

3.4 Practice with experienced PM interviewers

Finally, you should also try to practice product manager mock interviews with expert ex-interviewers, as they’ll be able to give you much more accurate feedback than friends and peers. 

If you know a Product Manager who can help you, that's fantastic! But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.

Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can practice 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from leading tech companies like Facebook. Learn more and start scheduling sessions today. 

Any questions about Facebook PM interviews?

If you have any questions about Facebook PM interviews, do not hesitate to ask them below and we will be more than happy to answer them. All questions are good questions, so go ahead!

Keep reading: Facebook RPM Interview Guide, Facebook Software Engineer Interview Guide