How to answer: 'What is your favourite product and why?'
Guide
Does this question sound familiar? If you’ve interviewed for product manager roles, it most definitely should.
In spite of being a very popular product interview question, it is surprising how unstructured (and lacking) the responses to this question can get. This article covers
common mistakes you may be making,
what the interviewer is looking for,
using a framework to structure your response,
tips and tricks to keep in mind while responding, and finally
an example response keeping all the above points in mind.
When an interviewer asks what your favourite product is, some common mistakes candidates make are:
Not give an overview of the product. The interviewer may not know the product you’re talking about. Even if they do, it is a good opportunity to articulate your understanding of the product.
Not talk about the vision or objective of the business/company. This is your favourite product. The reasons you love this product have to go beyond the apparent or cosmetic reasons. Let the interviewer know that you identify with the mission and values of the company.
Directly jump into a laundry list of aspects you like. Of course, there is a list of reasons. But unstructured and rambling responses are a big red flag and tell the interviewer that that is how you would approach your work.
“My favourite product is Airbnb because I love their UI, and they built a disruptive business.”
“I love Cred because it lets me pay my credit card bill easily, and incentivises me to do so.”
None of these statements are incorrect, and you may really mean them. But take a minute and think about what the interviewer will learn from these responses. Not much, really. The statements above do not tell the interviewer if you were able to assess the product as a product manager, and not as any other user of the product.
What are interviewers looking for then, when they ask this question? Depending on the interviewer, they may be trying to figure:
Your knowledge of a product and the domain in general, including the competitive space. General curiosity.
Your product mindset - why are certain aspects of the product the way they are. Are you able to build a connection between the product and user delight?
Your understanding of product design - what is a good design element in the product? Does the product have a radical approach to design?
Your articulation and ability to organize your thoughts
All of the above :)
Now that we know what the interviewer is looking for, make sure to incorporate enough details to cover those attributes. Here’s a simple framework to remember when preparing for this question:
Provide the structure. Talk about how you plan to address the question, so the interviewer can correct you if they are looking for something specific.
Explain how the product works. Most times, a brief overview will do.
What you think the company’s goals and mission are
Who is a typical user of the product, what are their motivations and pain points. In most cases, you should be in the segment of typical users. After all, this is your favourite product.
How the product addresses the paint points of the user, and ties to the goals of the company.
Talk about competitors. Address what makes your chosen product different. It is also perfectly okay to say there isn’t one and that’s what makes your chosen product unique.
Let’s look at an example response:
Now, while this question is popular in product management interviews, we have seen some variations to it.
What are your top three favourite products - and then dive deep into one of them
What is your favourite B2B product, or a product you use at the workplace (like a design collaboration tool or a marketing automation product)
A follow up question from interviewers can be ‘What do you not like about this product?’ Here, interviewers are trying to assess if you can be rational and critique a product.
Another follow up question sometimes is ‘How would you improve the product?’
Finally, we always recommend that you pick a product you genuinely love and use, and not one you think the interviewer wants to hear about. This way, even if the discussion strays from the path you chose, you’ll still provide honest and authentic feedback.