Storytelling, Frameworks, and Practice: Adjusting Your Prep Strategy
Great PM candidates distinguish themselves not just by what they say, but how they deliver their answers.
This is where your storytelling technique, use of frameworks, and practice regimen come in. Depending on whether you’re targeting a startup, a mid-sized company, or a big tech firm, you’ll want to tweak your approach:
Tailor Your Storytelling:
The stories you tell from your experience should highlight the qualities that matter for that company’s size/stage.
For a startup, you might tell a story about how you took a project from zero to one with almost no support, or how you creatively solved a problem with scant resources. Emphasize scrappiness, initiative, and learning from failure.
For a big tech interview, you might choose a story about leading a complex project with many stakeholders or using data to drive a strategic decision – highlighting structured impact, teamwork, and big-picture thinking. (Don’t forget to mention the scale of impact: e.g. “This feature increased retention by 15% across 2 million users.”).
In a mid-size company interview, you can mix these elements: perhaps a story of implementing a process or launching a feature that significantly improved a key metric, showing you can bring order to chaos. In all cases, frame your stories with a clear situation and outcome. A hiring manager will appreciate concise narratives that demonstrate skills relevant to their environment.
Use of Frameworks (but Flexibly):
Frameworks are a double-edged sword. In large companies’ interviews, demonstrating structured thinking is crucial. Using a known framework (even implicitly) can help you cover all bases. For example, approaching a product design question with something like the CIRCLES method (Context, Insights, brainstorm, etc.) or tackling a strategy question with SWOT can show clear thinking. A Google PM interviewer might note if your answer was well-structured and logical. However, in startup interviews, you don’t want to sound overly rehearsed or rigid. If you start name-dropping frameworks excessively, it might turn off a founder who expects a scrappier, more first-principles approach. The key is to internalize frameworks but speak naturally. For instance, you’ll still want to analyze a startup product question by discussing user needs and possible solutions (that is structured thinking), but you might do it in a more conversational tone, perhaps even admitting assumptions or uncertainties (which is fine in a collaborative startup setting). Mid-sized companies appreciate structured thinking too, but also value flexibility. So use a framework to organize your thoughts, but don’t be afraid to deviate if the conversation flows differently.
Mock Interviews and Practice Focus:
Practicing with mock interviews is invaluable for any PM interview – but how you practice can mirror the company style.
If you’re aiming for a FAANG or similar big tech PM role, do lots of formal mock interviews. Time yourself on product design questions, practice whiteboarding (or virtual whiteboarding) a solution, and get friends or mentors to simulate a panel firing different questions at you. Consider professional coaching or using platforms (like Igotanoffer, etc.) to get a feel of real FAANG interview questions. You’ll want to build stamina for back-to-back interviews and refine polished, frameworks-driven answers. Also, practice behavioral questions out loud to ensure your stories are tight (record yourself if possible).
On the other hand, for a startup interview, you should still practice, but it’s equally important to practice having conversations. Maybe have a friend do an “informal” mock with you over coffee and ask you broad questions like “So, what makes you interested in our startup and what can you bring to the table?” – something an actual founder might ask in a casual meeting. This will help you get comfortable telling your story without sounding too scripted. You can also practice answering on the fly to oddball questions to build that muscle.
For mid-sized companies, try a combination: do a couple of formal case practice sessions and a couple of informal Q&A sessions. Focus your practice on your weaker areas, but cover all the bases. If you come from a non-technical background and the target company might ask a technical-ish question, make sure to review that with a friend (perhaps an engineer friend who can grill you lightly). If you haven’t had to do a product case in a while, definitely practice those.
Feedback and Iteration:
In any preparation plan, seek feedback. For big tech interviews, getting feedback from someone who has been through the process (or an ex-interviewer) can be gold – they can tell you if your answers are structured enough or if your examples are hitting the mark. For startups, maybe run your thoughts by a mentor familiar with startup life – do you sound genuinely excited and aligned with a startup mindset? Since startup interviews can be quirky, intel from someone who knows the founders’ approach (if you can find that) can help you prepare the right anecdotes. Keep iterating on your stories and approaches based on input.
Adjusting to Company Culture:
Finally, weave in storytelling elements that align with the company’s culture and values. At a large company, explicitly mentioning how you exemplified a value (like teamwork, or “bias for action”) can leave a great impression. At a startup, showing you’ve researched their mission and that you “truly comprehend the intricacies of the product”— perhaps by referencing a recent feature launch or industry news — can make your conversations stand out. It shows you’re already envisioning yourself in their shoes, which is what every interviewer wants to see.
