In this guide, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about the Spotify product manager interview.
The PM role at Spotify is highly coveted, which means you can expect their hiring process to be rigorous and competitive. But no need to worry. Proper preparation makes all the difference.
To help you prepare, we’ve put together this ultimate guide to Spotify product manager interviews. We’ll outline the company’s hiring process, interview questions, and key preparation resources to help you maximize your chances of success.
Here's an overview of what we'll cover:
Let’s get started!
1. Spotify product manager role and salary↑
Before we cover your PM interviews at Spotify, let's take a quick look at the role itself.
1.1 What does a Spotify product manager do?
Spotify calls its product team “the what and the why behind Spotify.” As a Spotify product manager, your core responsibility is to define the direction, strategy, and roadmap for the company’s new products, features, and infrastructure. Your goal is to enhance the user streaming experience and drive business growth.
“For both the interview process (where applicable) and for getting a sense of PM life inside Spotify, the “Think it, build it, ship it, tweak it” mindset and shared vocabulary still exist!” Gaurav (ex-Spotify software engineer) says.
This four-stage mindset is part of Spotify’s product management ideology, and it allows them to reduce risk and cost during product design. You may want to familiarize yourself with this framework to ace your product interviews at Spotify.
What skills are required to be a Spotify product manager?
As a Spotify PM, making data-driven, user-centric decisions is essential. You need to have a blend of technical, analytical, creative, and interpersonal skills to be successful in this role.
You’ll need to showcase strong skills in data analytics, product strategy, market awareness, and problem-solving to drive impactful product innovations. You will be working with different stakeholders, so effective communication, collaboration, and strong leadership skills are a must.
Having worked in a PM role in the past, especially in an agile development environment, is an advantage but not necessarily needed.
1.2 How much does a Spotify product manager make?
Based on Glassdoor data, the average pay range for a US product manager at Spotify is $186,000 - $282,000 with a median total compensation package of $227,000. This is 45.7% higher than the average U.S. product manager salary.
Take note that the compensation details change depending on location. Here are some samples:
- Spotify Sweden PM: est. average of $68,700
- Spotify Netherlands PM: est. average of $95,000
- Spotify UK PM: est. average of $98,000
Below you can see the average base salary of the different product manager positions at Spotify US as of early 2025, based on Levels.fyi data:
Ultimately, how you do in your interviews will help determine what you’ll be offered. That’s why hiring one of our top PM interview coaches can provide such a significant return on investment.
And remember, compensation packages are always negotiable, even at Spotify. So, if you do get an offer, don’t be afraid to ask for more. If you need help negotiating, consider booking one of our salary negotiation coaches to get expert advice.
2. Spotify product manager interview process↑
Based on the applicant experience shared at Glassdoor, the interview process at Spotify can run from 4 weeks to 3 months, with a few weeks between each interview.
The entire recruitment process will take you through 6 key stages:
- Application review: resume, cover letter, and referrals
- Recruiter video or telephone interview (30-45 min)
- Hiring manager screening (45 min-1 hour)
- Final interviews (4-5 hours total)
- Take-home exercise/Work trial
- You get an offer!
Let’s take a closer look at each step.
Note: If you’re interviewing for a product VP, Director, or Group PM role, click here to learn more about the product leader interview process and how to prepare.
2.1 Application review: resume, cover letter, and referrals
First, recruiters will look at your resume and assess if your experience matches the open position. In particular, if you’ve done high-impact work and have extensive experience at companies similar to Spotify’s fast-paced, innovative environment, you’ll have an edge.
You can use this free product manager resume guide to help tailor your resume to Spotify and the position you’re targeting.
To stand out even more, Spotify highly recommends including a cover letter or a link to your personal website in your application. Be sure to tailor your cover letter to Spotify, and show how your professional background and passions align with the company.
And if you’re looking for expert feedback, you can also get input from our team of PM recruiters, who will cover what achievements to focus on (or ignore), how to fine-tune your bullet points, and more.
2.2. Recruiter video or telephone interview (30-45 min)
Next, you'll usually 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 Spotify.
Prepare for resume and behavioral questions that will allow the recruiter to assess if you meet the basic requirements and are the right person for the position. You might be asked about music as well.
Be ready to answer questions like “Why Spotify?”, “What artists are you currently listening to?” or “What is the most creative idea you had?”
Read up on Spotify’s Band Manifesto and be sure to align your answers with their values.
This is also a good opportunity for you to ask any clarifying questions about what you can expect from the succeeding interview. You can also ask about the specifics of the job opportunity itself.
2.3 Hiring manager screening
After the recruiter interview, you’ll then have your first interview with a hiring manager or a team member (internally referred to as “band members” as per the Spotify Band Manifesto).
During this interview, you can expect questions focusing on your PM skills and knowledge. Be ready to answer questions about your past experiences and highlight your relevant hands-on experience that would show your expertise in strategy and execution.
Highlight proficiencies, specific achievements, and strengths that make you a great candidate for the role.
This first-round interview usually lasts for about an hour.
2.4 Final interviews (4-5 hours total)
Once you clear the initial interview with the hiring manager/team member, you’ll then advance to the final round of interviews.
Here, you’ll meet with 4 to 6 band members from different departments. This gives you a preview of the people you’ll likely collaborate with as a Spotify PM.
Expect a lot of role-related and behavioral questions during these interviews. Aside from assessing your PM skills and knowledge, the interviewers will be testing your cross-functional skills as well as how you communicate and collaborate.
Throughout the entire interview process, you can expect plenty of culture-fit questions. So be sure to review the Band Manifesto we’ve referenced above.
Depending on your location, you may be invited for an onsite interview or a virtual one.
2.5 Take-home exercise/ Work trial
Some ex-applicants shared that they completed take-home assignments or work trials after the interviews, but not everyone was asked to do them. Feel free to clear this with your recruiter so you can allot time to prepare for it.
3. Spotify product manager example interview questions↑
Now that you’ve seen the interview process for Spotify PMs, let’s take a look at the types of questions you can expect along the way.
We gathered and analyzed the questions reported by former Spotify PM candidates on Glassdoor. Based on our analysis, here are the four categories of questions with the percentage of frequency:
- General behavioral and "fit" questions (46%)
- Product management skillset questions (37%)
- Product improvement questions (12%)
- Product strategy questions (5%)
Below we’ll take a look at each category, and give you a list of questions you can practice with. Note that some of the questions have been edited for clarity or grammar.
3.1. Behavioral and fit questions (46%)
Spotify is big on company values and beliefs; it hires people who understand its mission and will likely fit into its brand culture. Behavioral and fit questions allow them to assess if you have the mindset and values they are looking for in a Spotify PM.
These questions will appear at every step of the interview process, from the initial recruiter phone screen, through the hiring manager screen and all the way through to the final interviews.
In brief, here are the values highlighted on their company website:
- Innovative – we move fast and take risks
- Sincere – We have no time for internal politics
- Passionate – We revel in what we do
- Collaborative – We recognize that we’re all in this together
- Playful – We don’t take ourselves too seriously
The behavioral and culture fit questions reported by candidates may not point directly toward these values. So it’s up to you to prepare answers that show how you align with them.
Also, expect general questions about your experience, motivation for the role, and way of working. Here are some samples:
Example PM interview questions asked at Spotify: behavioral and fit
- What type of manager are you?
- How do you perceive this job?
- What is collaboration?
- How do you lead teams?
- Tell us about a stressful situation and how you handled it.
- Why do you want to work at Spotify? (sample answer for Meta but works for any company)
- Tell me about yourself and why you are appropriate for this position.
For more information, take a look at our behavioral interview guide, which is targeted at Meta but contains a method applicable to Spotify as well.
3.2 Product management skillset questions (37%)
These questions will test whether you have the knowledge and technical skills to perform the key responsibilities of a Spotify PM.
Some of these PM skillset questions are framed as behavioral questions. They all reflect real-world challenges that product managers encounter. Expect questions pertaining to feature prioritization, product development and execution, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
A few candidates also reported getting asked to explain certain technical terms. These are meant to evaluate the scope of your PM knowledge and your ability to communicate.
Example PM interview questions asked at Spotify: product management skillset
Execution
- Give me an example of a time that you built a product.
- Tell me about a time you used data to form a product decision.
- Tell me a time you took a product from 0 – 1.
Technical explanation
- What does continuous integration mean?
- What is spaghetti code?
- What are your experiences working with platforms and APIs?
Prioritization
- How do you prioritize technical debt as a product manager?
- How do you prioritize competing requests?
- How do you prioritize competing features?
Cross-collaboration
- How do you collaborate with engineers?
- Name a time when you had to make a product decision, but the stakeholders wanted different things.
- Tell me about how you work with the design team.
- How do you work with developers?
To learn more about this interview category in detail, check out the following guides:
- How to answer technical interview questions
- How to crack prioritization questions
- Product execution questions (about Meta but works for Spotify and others)
3.3 Product improvement questions (12%)
With Spotify’s “Think it, build it, ship it, tweak it” mindset, a big part of your job as a PM is making continuous improvements on products that have already been shipped.
Spotify asks product improvement questions to assess your ability to use a structured approach to design and improve products in different ways.
Some of these questions will be presented in the form of case studies, where you will be playing the role of a PM making decisions for a team. You’ll need to consider who the user is and what their needs are, how you’ll create value, how to design the product, and what setbacks may come your way.
Example PM interview questions asked at Spotify: product improvement
- Describe an app you use frequently and tell me how you would improve it.
- If you were to add a feature to Spotify, what would it be?
- What app do you think has a good experience? Why? What's a deep dive into ways they can grow their user base?
- What is your vision for the growth of a feature set/product over time?
- Come up with ways to increase engagement in Spotify’s social features.
Click here to learn more about answering product improvement interview questions.
3.4 Product strategy questions (5%)
Product strategy questions test your ability to develop a product vision and roadmap based on market opportunities and business needs.
Come ready to share the processes and methodologies from your own PM playbook with the interviewer, and show how you break down complex problems.
Example PM interview questions asked at Spotify: product strategy
- Describe one product opportunity for the Music business.
- How would you launch Spotify in sub-Saharan Africa?
Click here to learn more about how to answer product strategy questions.
4. Spotify product manager interviewing tips↑
You might be a fantastic product manager, but unfortunately, that’s not necessarily enough to ace your interviews at Spotify. Interviewing is a skill in itself that you need to learn.
Let’s look at some key tips to make sure you approach your interviews the right way.
4.1 Ask clarifying questions
Some of the questions you will be asked will be quite ambiguous. In those cases, you’ll need to ask clarifying questions to get more information about the problem and to reduce its scope.
Jumping straight in without asking questions first will be a red flag to the interviewer and will hinder your answer.
For instance, if you were asked, “What would be your 10-year strategy if you were CEO?” you can respond by asking some questions about the company’s current situation and any business objectives the interviewer may have in mind. This way, you’ll have a better understanding of what the company needs in the coming years and have more information from which to build a strategy.
4.2 Justify your choices
Spotify wants to see the reasoning behind your answer, so make sure to justify each decision you make. You'll need to make plenty of trade-offs as you arrive at a solution, so be sure to call them out.
However, do not over-justify. One of Spotify’s key principles is sincerity and keeping an open mind. So when you provide your justifications, let them see that you are open to feedback, too.
4.3 Be data-driven
Spotify is looking for product managers who can make decisions based on data and can judge everything they do by relevant metrics.
In an interview situation, it's okay to make assumptions because you might not have access to the facts and data. But you need to make it clear that in real life, you would seek out that data and that your approach would be highly data-driven.
4.4 Demonstrate user empathy
Spotify is known for having transformed music listeners' listening habits, so it wants PMs who can empathize with its users and fully understand their needs.
When answering a PM interview question, your first instinct should be to focus on the user. Identify who uses the product, why, and what the use cases are. Avoid designing a product based solely on personal preferences.
As part of your prep, think hard about the different kinds of Spotify users, their pain points, questions about Spotify and music streaming in general, and their user journey on the platform.
4.5 Center on the company’s core values
Before coming into a Spotify phone screen or interview, it’s important to study Spotify’s culture. When answering behavioral questions, share stories from past experiences that align with Spotify’s core values. When designing a product or a strategy, consider how your answer aligns with their values and product principles.
4.6 Don’t get stuck in a framework
As we just said above, frameworks are extremely helpful. However, excessive reliance on frameworks may hinder your performance.
During the interview, trust your instinct, and don’t be afraid to deviate from the framework if needed. A framework is there to help you craft a better answer, not to make you twist your answer to fit the framework.
4.7 Answer methodically by using a framework
Like other tech companies, Spotify wants you to solve a problem methodically. You can use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework when answering behavioral questions.
We also recommend the BUS (Business objective - User problems - Solutions) framework for answering product insight questions and the SPSIL (Situation - Problem - Solution - Impact - Lessons) framework for behavioral questions.
4.8 Incorporate the “think it, build it, ship it, tweak it” mindset
Part of a Spotify PM's job is product risk reduction. You can use this 4-stage model to show your structured thinking from conceptualizing a product up until the end state.
“Think It” defines the product and its purpose, “Build It” creates a minimum viable version for users, “Ship It” rolls it out while optimizing based on feedback, and “Tweak It” continuously improves it until it's either shut down or reimagined.
Check out this link for a broader definition of this PM model.
4.9 Check in with your interviewer
Interviewers differ in their willingness to provide hints. Some may wait for you to ask about customer or product details, while others expect you to make assumptions on your own.
Gauge this by asking a direct question or specifying your assumptions. If the interviewer tends to offer specifics, they’ll engage. If not, limit additional questions to demonstrate your ability to make decisions independently.
4.10 Treat the interview like a conversation
Keep in mind that the interview is a two-way discovery process. While the interviewer assesses if you’re a good fit for Spotify, you’re also evaluating if the company aligns with your aspirations and preferences.
At the end of your interview, be sure to ask your interviewer questions. Prepare thoughtful ones that go beyond what you could have found out online. You can ask about career growth opportunities or specific ways of working in the company. It's your chance to showcase genuine curiosity and investment in the conversation.
5. Preparation plan↑
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 Spotify PM interviews.
5.1 Deep dive into the product/organization
To get an offer from Spotify, you must come to the interviews with a clear understanding of the company and its products. Many of the questions you’ll be asked will stem from real-life issues that Spotify faces.
So, before your interviews, study up on the company.
Here are some resources to get you started:
- Spotify’s hiring process and FAQs (by Spotify)
- Spotify mission and values (by Spotify)
- Spotify Band Manifesto (by Spotify)
- Diversity, equity & impact platforms (by Spotify)
- Breaking news: Discover the latest happenings from our band members and communities (by Spotify)
Gaurav, ex-Spotify software engineer, also recommends the following resources to learn more about Spotify’s approach to product management.
- How Spotify Builds Products (by Henrik Kniberg)
- The science of product, big bets, and how AI is impacting the future of music (by Gustav Soderstrom)
5.2 Learn a consistent method for answering PM interview questions
As mentioned previously, Spotify will ask you questions that fall into categories like behavioral and culture fit, project management skills, strategy, and product improvement. 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 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:
- Product sense questions
- Product improvement questions
- Product strategy questions
- Prioritization questions
- Meta behavioral questions (can apply to any company)
Once you’re in command of the subject matter, you’ll want to practice answering questions. But by yourself, you can’t simulate thinking on your feet or the pressure of performing in front of a stranger. Plus, there are no unexpected follow-up questions and no feedback.
That’s why many candidates try to practice with friends or peers.
5.3 Practice with peers
If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's an option worth trying. It’s free, but be warned, you may come up against the following problems:
- It’s hard to know if the feedback you get is accurate
- They’re unlikely to have insider knowledge of interviews at your target company
- On peer platforms, people often waste your time by not showing up
For those reasons, many candidates skip peer mock interviews and go straight to mock interviews with an expert.
5.4 Practice with experienced PM interviewers
In our experience, practicing real interviews with experts who can give you company-specific feedback makes a huge difference.
Find a Spotify product manager interview coach so you can:
- Test yourself under real interview conditions
- Get accurate feedback from a real expert
- Build your confidence
- Get company-specific insights
- Learn how to tell the right stories, better.
- Save time by focusing your preparation
Landing a job at a big tech company often results in a $50,000 per year or more increase in total compensation. In our experience, three or four coaching sessions worth ~$500 make a significant difference in your ability to land the job. That’s an ROI of 100x!
