I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Stamps.com (Los Angeles, CA) in Feb 2017
Interview
Received an email from the hiring manager to schedule a 30-min phone screen then had a follow up phone screen. Process after that was to be brought on-site.
My experience...
The initial phone screen went well and the hiring manager expressed enthusiasm for my candidacy. We briefly touched on my background, why I want to be a product manager, and my interest in Stamps.com and knowledge I had. After concluding the interview, the hiring manager told me he would be in contact with me to schedule an on-site interview to meet other members of the team. The hiring manager was easy to talk to and the conversation went smoothly.
This is where the experience took a turn. A couple days after the initial phone screen, I received an email requesting that another phone interview be set up in the next 2 days. I was a little disappointed as I thought it'd be an on-site as discussed in the initial conversation. Got on the call with the hiring manager again - he wasted no time this go around. Jumped straight into the question which was a brain teaser type question.
I was completely taken aback as this question wasn't an estimation type question but rather a recursion type question. I only realized that it was a recursion question because I had taken programming courses in my undergraduate classes. However, the positioned I interviewed for was not a technical PM and the listing did not specify a CS requirement or background (although as always, nice to have).
Embarrassingly, I spent 10 minutes on the phone with the hiring manager discussing my thought process. After arriving at a feasible solution, the interview ended and was told an email will be sent for next steps. Obviously, I did not get the position.
I felt cheated that I was told I'd be moving on for an on-site and that the deciding factor for my continuation in the process was whether I could answer an algorithmic question for a position that did not require a CS background. These questions are not in anyway indicative of being a successful PM, so it's frustrating to see them still around.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What's your favorite product and how would you improve it?
Email question sent asking for solutions to fix an online video app. You submit solutions, and possible problems. I also went a bit above and beyond by including feasibility for each item after the answered question. After that phase interviewed with the VP of Product Management.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"The egg drop question" except he used blocks instead of eggs.
You have 2 blocks and a 100 floor tower. If you drop a block and it breaks you cannot use that block anymore. How can you find the highest possible floor to drop from where the block won't break?
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Stamps.com (Los Angeles, CA) in Oct 2021
Interview
1. Received an e-mail from the hiring manager to complete a take-home assignment on launching a new streaming platform.
2. Next round was a panel that focused on past experiences and interests for the company.
3. Another panel with 2 PMs about a case test creating a tracking page with various hypothetical APIs
4. Didn't move on to the final round with leadership, but everyone I met seemed extremely interested in my career and had a lot of great answers to culture questions
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
(Take-Home Assignment) Create product and launch details of a new streaming platform.
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Stamps.com
Interview
I got an email from the hiring manager about a scenario. After submitting my answers, instead of the hiring (or HR), a team member set up an initial call with me (the call took 1 hr).
I was asked a lot about working experience and given some scenarios in Product. The interview was OK, until he asked about my expected salary for this role. I told him if I could give him the answer later. He said that it was to decide if they should move forward... That was a big turn off for 2 reasons:
1. He was not the hiring manager nor an HR. Was it LEGAL for a team member to ask an applicant about his/her salary expectation for this role? I felt very uncomfortable to discuss that with someone who was not from HR or the hiring manager.
2. That question sent a message that the company don't give a damn about what values a person can bring it and have no intention in negotiation.
Then, I asked him about the culture. He seemed not to have much to say. One thing he said that "It's getting BETTER". That made me question about the culture.. Was it bad before??
Right after that conversation, I knew that the company wouldn't be a good fit for me in many aspects such as the people that I will be working with and the culture that I will have to adapt.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you decide to pursue a new feature or product?