Do you have experience in helping to develop a new product? If so, talk about what your role was in the development of this product.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
How to Answer
Answer Example

The interviewer wants to know more than just if you have experience--they know that already from your CV. They want to see if you understand the concept of a product roadmap and how you look at teamwork, timing, and tracking progress.

If you do not have experience helping develop a new product: Acknowledge your lack of experience and then move on to why you are still a strong candidate for the position. Discuss a project you worked on where you had to work with a team, had a deadline to follow and a project outline to stick to, or had to convince stakeholders to buy into your concept.

If you do have experience helping develop a new product: Use an example of a successful product launch to organically weave in your strengths. Discuss the issue you were trying to solve and how you worked collaboratively with a team to come up with a solution. Discuss the development of the launch plan, your role in tracking progress, and how you kept the project on time.

"In my last job, I helped launch a new type of savings account at a bank. We had identified a need in our target market to help customers save money for the holidays and our new product would allow them to save the funds throughout the course of an entire year, little by little. As part of the development team, I met with key stakeholders to share our vision and get their buy-in and support. Once the project was approved, we developed a product roadmap with target dates and deadlines for marketing materials, technical developments, and customer and employee training. We reviewed our progress weekly to ensure we were still on track and began scheduling meetings at more frequent intervals as we approached the launch date. A soft launch to a test group of customers helped us refine the product before the full launch, and when the product did roll out it was well-received by the targeted customer base."

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How to Answer: Do you have experience in helping to develop a new product? If so, talk about what your role was in the development of this product.

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Product Manager job interview.

13. Do you have experience in helping to develop a new product? If so, talk about what your role was in the development of this product.

Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

The interviewer wants to know more than just if you have experience--they know that already from your CV. They want to see if you understand the concept of a product roadmap and how you look at teamwork, timing, and tracking progress.

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 10th, 2022

How to Answer

If you do not have experience helping develop a new product: Acknowledge your lack of experience and then move on to why you are still a strong candidate for the position. Discuss a project you worked on where you had to work with a team, had a deadline to follow and a project outline to stick to, or had to convince stakeholders to buy into your concept.

If you do have experience helping develop a new product: Use an example of a successful product launch to organically weave in your strengths. Discuss the issue you were trying to solve and how you worked collaboratively with a team to come up with a solution. Discuss the development of the launch plan, your role in tracking progress, and how you kept the project on time.

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 10th, 2022

Answer Example

"In my last job, I helped launch a new type of savings account at a bank. We had identified a need in our target market to help customers save money for the holidays and our new product would allow them to save the funds throughout the course of an entire year, little by little. As part of the development team, I met with key stakeholders to share our vision and get their buy-in and support. Once the project was approved, we developed a product roadmap with target dates and deadlines for marketing materials, technical developments, and customer and employee training. We reviewed our progress weekly to ensure we were still on track and began scheduling meetings at more frequent intervals as we approached the launch date. A soft launch to a test group of customers helped us refine the product before the full launch, and when the product did roll out it was well-received by the targeted customer base."

Written by Tiffany McPherson on May 10th, 2022

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