Meta PM interview (questions, prep, and process)

Meta product manager interviews are really challenging. The questions are difficult, specific to 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 Meta. 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
•  

Click here to practice 1-to-1 with Meta ex-interviewers

1. Interview process and timeline ↑

1.1 What interviews to expect

What's the 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-Meta/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 Meta. You should expect typical behavioral and resume questions like, "Tell me about yourself," "Why Meta?" 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 Meta PMs. One great thing about Meta is that it's very transparent about the 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 Meta 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 Meta'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 Meta: Product sense, Execution, and Leadership & drive. We've analyzed questions reported by former Meta 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 ↑

Meta 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 Meta 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 Meta 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 an ex-Facebook PM answers a product sense question: "How would you design an antiques marketplace?". 

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! Meta 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 Meta 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 Meta 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 Meta 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.

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 Meta 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 Meta 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 Meta?" 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 Meta PM interviews.

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 Meta 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:

• Meta's 6 core values (by Meta)
• Facebook’s “hacker culture” (by Mark Zuckerberg, via Wired)
• Meta annual reports and strategy presentations (by Meta)
• Meta's approach to tech trends (by CB Insights)
• Meta org culture analysis (by Panmore Institute)

3.2 Learn a consistent method for answering PM interview questions

As mentioned previously, Meta 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

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.

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 Meta and other leading tech companies. Learn more and start scheduling sessions today. 

Keep reading: Meta RPM Interview Guide