PM Interview Question Types

Type	Example Question	Framework
Product Sense	"Design a product for elderly dog owners"	Goal → Users → Problems → Solutions → Metrics
Estimation	"How many Uber rides happen in London per day?"	Clarify → Structure → Calculate → Sanity check
Strategy	"How would you grow Instagram Reels?"	Goal → Diagnosis → Options → Prioritise → Metrics
Metrics	"Daily active users dropped 10% — what happened?"	Clarify → Segment → Hypothesise → Prioritise
Behavioural	"Tell me about a time you influenced without authority"	STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result
Technical	"How does the Spotify recommendation algorithm work?"	Explain simply, show you can partner with engineers

Product Sense Framework (5 Steps)

Clarify: ask about the goal, constraints, and what success looks like
User Segments: identify who uses this product and prioritise one segment
User Problems: map the user journey and find pain points
Solutions: brainstorm 3–5 solutions, evaluate on impact/feasibility
Success Metrics: how would you measure if the solution worked?

PM Salary Benchmarks

Role	US Salary (Avg)	India (INR)
APM / Junior PM	$95K–$130K	₹12–22 LPA
Product Manager	$130K–$175K	₹20–40 LPA
Senior PM	$160K–$220K	₹35–60 LPA
Staff / Principal PM	$200K–$280K	₹55–90 LPA
Director of Product	$220K–$320K	₹70–120 LPA
VP / CPO	$280K–$600K+	₹100–200+ LPA

APM Programs (Entry-Level PMs)

Associate PM programs at major tech companies are the best path into PM from non-PM roles:

Google APM Program
Meta RPM (Rotational PM)
Microsoft Explore (new grad)
Uber APM
LinkedIn PM Rotational

Building Your PM Portfolio

Write tear-downs: analyse existing products' UX, metrics, and strategy decisions
Create a case study: a product problem you identified and designed a solution for
Build a simple product: a no-code MVP, validated with 5 users
Write publicly: Medium, Substack, or LinkedIn posts on product topics

🎯 Rotech Tip: The best PM candidates show empathy for users, a bias for data, and clarity of thought. Practice product sense questions daily — structure your thinking before diving in.