Google Program Manager Interview (questions, process, prep)

Program manager interviews at Google are challenging. The questions are difficult, specific to Google, and cover a wide range of topics that are relevant to an important managerial role.

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

Here's an overview of what we'll cover in this guide:

• Role and salary
• Process and timeline
• Example interview questions
  • Googleyness/leadership questions
  • GCA (general cognitive ability) questions
  • Program management questions
• Improve your interviewing skills
• Preparation plan

Click here to practice 1-on-1 with Google program manager ex-interviewers

1. Role and salary ↑

1.1 What does a Google program manager do?

In a nutshell, Google program managers are responsible for driving large-scale, cross-functional initiatives that are not necessarily technical in nature. 

Unlike technical program managers (TPMs) who tend to focus on engineering-related execution, Google program managers work more broadly across business, operations, product, and strategy.

As a Google program manager, you’ll often work on:

To ensure these programs are executed successfully, program managers collaborate with a wide range of teams, including marketing, sales, legal, finance, support, and product.

As a Google program manager, you are not expected to write code or manage technical architecture. Instead, your focus is on program delivery, stakeholder alignment, and long-term impact. 

The core responsibilities of a Google program manager typically include:

While product managers decide what to build and TPMs manage how it’s built, program managers are responsible for making sure all involved teams are aligned and ready to scale, support, and complete the project.

In short, the Google program manager role is about execution, coordination, and impact.

1.2 Salary and compensation

Google offers competitive total compensation packages for program managers. The total compensation typically includes a base salary, annual bonus, and equity in the form of restricted stock units (RSUs).

As usual, compensation can vary depending on level, team, and location.

Below is a breakdown of the compensation typically offered to Google program managers, based on verified user-submitted data from Levels.fyi.

Google program managers in higher-cost locations, such as San Francisco or New York, typically earn more due to location-based costs of living.

If you’re actively interviewing for a Google program manager role, ask your recruiter which level you're being considered for. This will help you understand what you should expect in terms of compensation.

And remember, compensation packages are always negotiable, even at Google. So, if you do get an offer, don’t be afraid to ask for more. If you need help negotiating,  read our guide to Google job offer negotiations and consider booking one of our salary negotiation coaches to get expert advice.

2. Google program manager interview process and timeline ↑

2.1 What interviews to expect

Google's interview process for the program manager role is extensive and can be quite time-consuming. It typically takes 3-8 weeks to go through the process, but it's not uncommon for it to take much longer (i.e., over 6 months). 

Here's an overview of the interview steps you'll face along the way.

1. Resume screen
2. Recruiter screen (1 interview)
3. Program manager screen (1-2 interviews)
4. Onsite interviews (typically 4 rounds)

In addition to these interview steps, some behind-the-scenes steps have to happen before you get an offer, which we talk about later in Section 2.3. 

But first, let's focus on the steps you'll need to prepare for:

2.1.1 Resume screen

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, as millions of candidates will not even make it past this stage.

You can refer to this free program manager resume guide and browse these Google resume examples to help tailor your resume to the program manager role you’re targeting.

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

If possible, it can also be helpful to get an employee or contact at Google to refer you to the recruiting team internally. An internal referral won’t guarantee an interview, but it can increase your chances of being seen and considered by their recruiters.

2.1.2 Recruiter screen

After your application is accepted, you'll start your interview process with Google with a recruiter call. 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 for Google. You should expect typical behavioral and resume questions like "Tell me about yourself", "Why Google?", etc.

If you get past this first HR screen, the recruiter will then help schedule your first program manager interview. At this time, your recruiter will probably also give you additional details about the next interview and the person you're interviewing with.

2.1.3 Program manager screen (1-2 interviews)

Next, you'll go through one or two program manager interviews. Your first interviewer will usually be the hiring manager for the role, and sometimes you'll also have a second interview before you're advanced to the onsite interviews.

The types of questions you'll be asked in this round are similar to the questions you'll encounter in your onsite interviews. In particular, you'll want to be well-prepared for leadership and program management questions. More on this in the example questions section.

The role of this step is to make sure it's worth bringing you onsite. Your interviewer’s goal here is to make sure you’ve got skills in all the right areas and actually have a chance of meeting the hiring bar.

2.1.4 Onsite interviews

Onsite interviews are the real test. You'll typically spend a full day interviewing with Google, and the interview questions you'll encounter will usually fall into one of three broad categories:

1. Googleyness/leadership questions, where you'll be evaluated on your past work experience, your motivation for applying, your ability to handle conflict, cultural fit, and more.
2. General cognitive ability (GCA) questions, which test your ability to think critically and assess how you approach problem-solving. Questions are open-ended and typically ask how you would behave or respond to a certain scenario, be it hypothetical or something you may have encountered in the past.
3. Program management questions, where you'll be asked about leading projects, working with cross-functional teams, executing at various stages of the project lifecycle, and other experiences specific to the role or functional area that you're applying for. They may probe at some technical knowledge specific to the role, such as metrics. 

Your onsite interviews will likely be held virtually, which has been the case since the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, if you live near a Google HQ, you may be invited for in-person interviews. If you are invited, you may also be given the chance to have lunch or coffee with a fellow program manager. This is meant to be your time to ask questions about what it's like to work at Google. (The company won't be evaluating you during this time, but we recommend that you behave as if they were.)

In some cases, Google may ask you to do a follow-up interview after your onsite to drill you further on one of the areas we listed above. This means you're close to getting an offer, but the company wants to double-check that you're meeting the hiring bar for a given criteria.

2.2 What exactly is Google looking for?

At the end of each interview, your interviewer will grade your performance using a standardized feedback form that summarizes the attributes Google looks for in a candidate. The form is constantly evolving, but below we have listed the main components we know of at the time of writing this article.

A) Questions asked

In the first section of the form, the interviewer fills in the questions they asked you. These questions are then shared with your future interviewers so you don't get asked the same questions twice.

B) Attribute scoring

Each interviewer will assess you on the four main attributes Google looks for when hiring:

1. General cognitive ability. This is often referred to as "GCA" by Googlers. The company wants to hire smart program managers who can learn and adapt to new situations. Here your interviewer will try to understand how you solve hard problems and how you learn. For more information, take a look at our guide to the GCA interview.
2. Role-related knowledge and experience. This is often referred to as "RRK" or "RRKE" internally. The company wants to make sure that you have the right experience, domain expertise, and competencies for the position you're applying for. For more information, take a look at our guide to the RRK interview.
3. Leadership. Google looks for a particular type of leadership called “emergent leadership.” You'll typically be working in cross-functional teams at Google, and different team members are expected to step up and lead at different times in the lifecycle of a project when their skills are needed. More information in this guide to Google leadership questions.
4. Googleyness (i.e. culture fit). The company wants to make sure Google is the right environment for you. Your interviewer will check whether you naturally exhibit the company's values, including: being comfortable with ambiguity, having a bias to action, and a collaborative nature. More information in this guide to Googleyness.

Depending on the exact job you're applying for, these attributes might be broken down further. For instance, if you were applying to be a TPM, then "role-related knowledge and experience" might be broken down into "program management" and "technical judgment".

In this middle section, Google's interviewers typically document your answers in detail and give you a score for each attribute (e.g., "Poor", "Mixed", "Good", "Excellent").

C) Final recommendation

Finally, interviewers will write a summary of your performance and provide an overall recommendation on whether they think Google should be hiring you or not (e.g., "Strong no hire", "No hire", "Leaning no hire", "Leaning hire", "Hire", "Strong hire").

2.3 What happens behind the scenes

If things go well at your onsite interviews, here's what the final steps of the process look like:

• Interviewers submit feedback
• Hiring committee recommendation
• Team matching
• Senior leader and compensation committee review
• Final executive review (only senior roles)
• You get an offer

After your onsite, your interviewers will all submit their feedback, usually within two to three days. This feedback will then be reviewed by a hiring committee, along with your resume, internal referrals, and any past work you have submitted. At this stage, the hiring committee will make a recommendation on whether Google should hire you or not.

If the hiring committee recommends that you get hired, you'll usually start your team-matching process. In other words, you'll talk to hiring managers and one or several of them will need to be willing to take you on their team for you to get an offer from the company.

In parallel, the hiring committee recommendation will be reviewed and validated by a senior manager and a compensation committee who will decide how much money you are offered. Finally, if you are interviewing for a senior role, a senior Google executive will review a summary of your candidacy and compensation before the offer is sent to you.

As you've probably gathered by now, Google goes to great lengths to avoid hiring the wrong candidates. This hiring process, with multiple levels of validations, helps them scale their teams while maintaining a high caliber of employees. But it also means that the typical process can spread over multiple months.

3. Google program manager example interview questions ↑

To help you prepare strategically for your interviews, we’ve used Glassdoor data to identify the types of questions most frequently asked in Google program manager interviews.

Let's dive in and look at the three broad types of interview questions you can expect:

1. Googleyness/leadership questions
2. GCA (general cognitive ability) questions
3. Product management questions

3.1 Googleyness/leadership questions

Google program managers usually work in cross-functional teams with other engineers, product managers, PMMs, data analysts, etc. You’ll need to be able to communicate clearly, work with others efficiently, build trust and manage relationships, and resolve project issues (before or after they arise).

Your ability to perform these functions will be assessed through 1) “Googleyness” questions (also known as cultural fit), and 2) leadership questions. 

“Googleyness” questions ask about your general work background, your long-term career goals, and what you look for in a working environment. Your interviewer’s goal here is to determine your cultural fit, and to assess how your professional values align with the company’s. Be prepared to talk about your career trajectory, general working style, and your motivations for joining Google.

As for leadership questions, their purpose is to assess your leadership traits, which are crucial to any type of managerial role. They often come in the form of behavioral questions that probe into how you’ve behaved in past work situations, as a predictor for future behavior. Be prepared to talk about your accomplishments, management style, and previous leadership experiences.

Here’s a list of example Googleyness and leadership questions reported by candidates on Glassdoor. Some phrasing has been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.

For more in-depth guidance, read our prep guide for Googleyness and leadership interview questions.

3.2 GCA (general cognitive ability) questions

GCA (general cognitive ability) questions are standard at Google interviews. You’ll likely get at least one or two of them at some point in your interviewing process.

GCA questions are open-ended. They’re designed to test your reasoning, and assess how you approach and solve problems. 

Here are some key points to remember about GCA questions:

• Open-ended questions: This means you’ll have to solve ambiguous problems, which may appear to have nothing to do with the position you’ve applied for.
• No single right way to answer: The questions may appear very broad and confusing at first, until you can break them down and show your reasoning.
• Data-driven decision-making: The key is to walk your interviewer through your thought process out loud, and to structure your response within a framework.

Here are some sample questions:

Read this guide to dive deeper into Google’s GCA interviews.

3.3 Program management questions

Google program managers design and execute programs from end to end. It's therefore important that they have a strong ability to plan, prioritize, and deliver projects.

This is the part of the interview process where you need to show you think about programs comprehensively (e.g., resources, risks, vendors, etc.) and have a track record of executing flawlessly. 

“Know the project lifecycle like the back of your hand. The PMBOK is a great place to start.” Nupur (former Google TPM)

To make a strong impression in this interview, you'll need to cover a lot of ground in your preparation. This is because the questions asked tend to vary based on the specific functional area you're applying for.

As a result, we'd suggest preparing for these four sub-categories, which all fall under program management questions:

1. Process & execution
2. Prioritization
3. Communication & team conflict
4. Crisis management
5. Metrics

3.1.1 Program management: Process & execution questions

Program managers are responsible for driving initiatives from planning to delivery, often across multiple teams, tools, and timelines. 

That means interviewers will want to assess how well you manage operations and execution at scale. Expect questions that probe into your ability to define processes, track progress, handle dependencies, and course-correct when things go off track. 

This category is key because it shows interviewers that you can design a program and, most importantly, actually deliver what needs to be done.

3.1.2 Program management: Prioritization questions

Google uses prioritization questions to evaluate your critical thinking and decision-making skills. This is a crucial area for program manager roles, as you’ll be working with a variety of teams and will often encounter conflicting priorities. 

As a program manager, you’ll need to show that you can make the right calls. This often involves considering multiple scenarios, knowing how to identify and de-prioritize less urgent concerns, and making smart cross-functional decisions that serve both the organization and project goals.

Here are some sample questions you might be asked:

Dive deeper into how to answer prioritization questions with this helpful guide.

3.1.3 Program management: Crisis management questions

As a program manager, your ability to stay calm under pressure and lead through uncertainty is critical. At a company as fast-moving and complex as Google, things don’t always go according to plan, but it’s your job to make sure things get back on the right track.

That’s why interviewers will test how you handle unexpected challenges. This can include managing last-minute changes, navigating sudden challenges that arise, or recovering from failures and blockages.

Strong answers here show that you can think clearly, act decisively, and keep programs on track even when things go wrong.

Here are a few sample questions:

3.1.4 Program management: Communication & team conflict

As we’ve already mentioned, the Google program manager role is a cross-functional role. To be an effective leader, you’re expected to be an expert communicator who can maintain positive morale, facilitate smooth coordination among teams, manage expectations, align goals, and mediate conflict.

Your interviewer will want to know how you handle such concerns by asking about your communication style and conflict-resolution skills. 

Here are some sample questions you may encounter, as reported on Glassdoor:

3.1.5 Program management: Metrics questions

Metric interview questions test if candidates can perform data analysis and select key metrics that matter most to the success of a product. Big Tech companies like Google use these questions to evaluate your analytical thinking and communication skills. 

While metrics questions may not make up the majority of your Google program manager interviews, knowing how to harness data to make more impactful decisions is crucial to the role. So, don’t overlook the importance of these!

Here are a few sample metrics questions reported by candidates on Glassdoor:

For more tips on metrics questions, check out this guide on the best ways to answer metrics-related interview questions, including answer frameworks you can apply. 

You can also dive deeper into program management interviews by reading our program management primer for tech interviews.

4. Improve your interviewing skills ↑

Plenty of candidates are excellent at their jobs, but still end up failing their Google program manager interview. Why? Their interview skills are simply not up to par, especially for a company as competitive and prestigious as Google.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when preparing for your Google interview:

4.1 Don’t jump straight to answering 

Answering a question right away may seem like a great way to show your confidence and knowledge, but it can be a huge red flag to interviewers. 

It shows them that you: 1) haven’t taken the time to pause and truly think about your answer, 2) haven’t bothered to ask clarifying questions or discuss possible approaches, and 3) are not being collaborative with your interviewer. 

All three are bad signs for how you may work within teams, especially for a cross-functional program manager role. For Google interviewers, your collaboration and communication skills are crucial. 

Instead, take a moment to think before you respond. It’s okay to pause or jot down notes, as long as you let the interviewer know that’s what you’re doing. 

In program management interviews, you can start by discussing your approach before you start drawing up solutions. For example, outline your plan and show your thought process to the interviewer.

In leadership interviews, if you’re asked about previous work experiences and have several scenarios to share, you might want to ask your interviewer which story they prefer to hear.

4.2 Answer with intention

Many of the questions you’re asked in a Google program manager interview will be open-ended. That means there are no right or wrong answers. You have to choose what area to focus on within the large possible space of responses.

In addition to this, you’ll also want to be intentional by tailoring your answers to the specific domain you’re applying for as a program manager, if applicable. 

One way to make sure you’re going in the right direction is to first refine the scope of the question. 

Consider the larger topic, then either ask for clarification from the interviewer or propose some context/constraints within which you will respond. Here’s an example of how to do this:

4.3 Be honest with your knowledge gaps

Your interviewer does not expect you to know everything. If you’re unsure about how to proceed with a question, be honest about that. Your interviewer will be able to tell anyway! 

Transparency is important, and you can still offer up a possible solution at the same time. For example, you may say something like: "I don't know that much about X, but I think I would do Y here, correct me if I'm wrong.” 

“Don’t panic if you don’t have all the information — show how you make rational, defensible decisions anyway.” Halim (ex-Meta senior product manager)

The same goes for your leadership questions. If you faced challenges or setbacks, be honest and own up to your mistakes and failures. But most importantly, discuss how you improved and learned from them.

4.4 Acknowledge trade-offs

Being a Google program manager requires high-level strategizing, crisis management, and prioritization. Any decision you make when problem-solving will have a trade-off. So, call them out in real time!

Use it as an opportunity to discuss different approaches with your interviewer and explain why your choice is the best one. 

If you don’t bring up trade-offs, your interviewer will almost certainly ask about them. It’s better to beat them to it and to show that you’re able to think strategically and thoroughly.

4.5 Adapt to follow-up questions

Interviewers will often ask follow-up questions, whether it’s a leadership, program management, or GCA interview. So, don’t be alarmed when your interviewer probes your answers!

Instead, listen carefully to the way your interviewer asks these questions. There will often be subtle clues about what they’re looking to assess in your next answer.

Sometimes, follow-up questions are also a way for your interviewer to steer you in a particular direction. So, don’t hesitate to follow them! In fact, most interviewers have good intentions and are trying to help you, so listen actively for hints. 

4.6 Use frameworks to structure your answers

Practicing with an answer framework helps you achieve clearer, structured answers, whether it’s for leadership or other types of interviews.

For behavioral interviews, in particular, you’ll want to make sure your answer only includes necessary information. Practice setting up your answer in 30 seconds or less, and cut down unnecessary or vague details.

4.7 Quantify your achievements

Whenever possible, quantify your achievements in past projects.

“Use metrics and data to demonstrate the impact of your contributions.” Bilwasiva (Amazon applied scientist)

Numbers and data help paint a clearer, more tangible picture of your skills and experience. Plus, they show your potential to make significant contributions to a team, especially for an important managerial role like a program manager.

4.8 Prepare for 3 types of leadership questions

Interviewers for managerial roles generally ask three types of leadership questions. 

1. Stories: “Give me an example …” / “Tell me about a time when …” 
2. Skillsets: “How do you …” / “What’s your approach to …” 
3. Scenarios: “Assume you have …” / “How would you deal with …”

You should understand and respect the way they’ve phrased the question and try to answer in a way that matches their expectations.

So, if they ask you to “tell me about a time…” give them a story rather than a hypothetical scenario, and so forth.

But if you feel strongly that you need to diverge, get the go signal from the interviewer first. Take a look at this example. 

Response 1 is a standard skillset response, while Response 2 is for when you think you may have a stronger story to offer.

4.9 Prepare to talk about people management

Not surprisingly, interviewers will want to assess your people management skills to find out how well you can lead a team. You can expect questions about how you get the best out of people and how you deal with conflicts that may arise.

4.10 Prepare to talk about project/program management

Often, a successful Google program manager is expected to manage more than one program at a given time. For example, you have to oversee one large program along with several smaller programs. Your interviewer will want to see that you can effectively lead projects from end to end.

“It's not enough to navigate ambiguity. Google program managers have to actually drive clarity and alignment.” Ines, Google program manager

As a Google program manager, you’ll need to ensure that what you’re working on aligns with the organization as a whole, while making sure that customers are still benefiting. 

You’ll have to show your interviewer that you possess the right skills and knowledge for this. This includes:

• Influencing without authority
• Ability to navigate ambiguity
• Proactive problem-solving
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Solid understanding of how the organization works, its goals, and how it intends to achieve them

Overall, prepare to answer questions about project/program management methodologies, your ability to deal with complex situations, and your experience delivering results.

4.11 Demonstrate both confidence and a growth mindset

Google seeks candidates who are confident in their skills, but who still actively seek growth. Interviewers will usually assess this in the behavioral questions they ask. 

Mark (ex-Google engineering manager) says that when preparing your stories, ask yourself: "Do the stories and experiences that I’m giving show that I’m always looking to grow and learn, rather than having a fixed mindset?" 

So, how exactly can you demonstrate this? By asking questions, applying feedback, and owning up to the gaps in your knowledge, while still pushing through. This shows a growth mindset by demonstrating your ability to adapt and learn fast.

However, be careful about asking too many questions and needing confirmation for every decision you make! This can show a lack of confidence in your skills, not a growth mindset. Only ask for confirmation at certain points when talking through your solution.