Frameworks won’t save you. Here’s what PM interviews actually test

👋 Hey friends,

When I was first interviewing for PM roles, I did what most people do.

I studied every framework I could find. RICE. Jobs to be Done. The whole alphabet soup of product acronyms.

I memorized them. Practiced them. Walked into interviews ready to drop framework names like I was collecting Pokemon cards.

And I bombed.

Not because I didn't know the frameworks. But because I was so focused on using the "right" terminology that I forgot to have an actual conversation.

I sounded like a textbook, not a person who could actually do the job.

Here's what I wish someone had told me: frameworks are useful tools to know. But PM interviews aren't testing whether you've memorized them. They're testing whether you can think, communicate, and collaborate.

Let me break down what's actually happening in each round.

Most PM interview processes follow a similar pattern:

The first two rounds, recruiter and hiring manager, are where most people get stuck. And round three? The live whiteboarding? That's where even strong candidates fall apart if they don't know what's being tested.

What they're actually testing:

Can you communicate clearly about your experience and explain product management in simple terms?

Basic understanding of user needs, prioritization, and cross-functional collaboration.

Are you genuinely interested in this company and role?

What trips people up:

Treating this like a box-checking exercise instead of a conversation. The recruiter isn't a PM, so talking in heavy jargon or rattling off frameworks won't help you.

How to prepare for this round:

Practice your "why PM" story until it's conversational, not rehearsed. Be ready to explain product management to someone unfamiliar with the role.

Research the company's product and be able to talk about what you like (and what you'd improve).

What they're actually testing:

How you frame problems, explain decisions, and respond when priorities shift.

Can you demonstrate flexibility and adapt your vision to organizational needs?

Communication clarity and comfort working across teams.

Your motivation, why PM, why this company, why now.

What trips people up:

This is where people lean too hard on frameworks. They answer every question with "Well, using the RICE framework..." instead of just talking through their thinking.

Hiring managers want to see if you're employing consensus-building tactics or just broadcasting your vision, whether you're using data to back things up, and how you're meeting with stakeholders.

They're not looking for you to recite memorized answers. They want to see how you think through problems in real time.

Here's the tricky one: answering "why PM" when your real answer is "I'm tired of my current role."

Everyone knows you can't say "I'm sick of support tickets" or "I want to get out of customer success." But if that's your honest motivation, how do you frame it?

Reframe what you're moving toward, not just what you're leaving behind.

Instead of: "I'm tired of only executing other people's decisions."
Try: "I want to be closer to the strategy conversations and help shape what we build, not just how we support it."

Instead of: "Support feels like Groundhog Day."
Try: "I've spent years seeing the same customer pain points come up repeatedly. I want to be in a position where I can actually solve those problems at the root instead of treating symptoms."

The difference: One sounds like you're running away. The other shows you understand what PM work actually involves and you're genuinely excited about it.

How to prepare for this round:

Prepare examples from past work that show how you've handled strategy, roadmapping, prioritization, customer research, and cross-functional collaboration.

Practice answering "tell me about a time when..." questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure behavioural clearly.

But here's the key: practice explaining your thought process without naming a single framework. Can you still make sense? That's what they want to hear.

Written by Shane Parrish and reMarkable, this workbook helps you reflect without complexity or stress. It guides you through the past year with intention, so insights emerge naturally.


This isn’t about setting more goals. It’s about understanding what matters, clearly and calmly.


A simple reset for January. A thoughtful way to review your year.

Download the workbook

This is the round that makes people sweat.

You'll get a prompt like:

"Imagine we're a bike share company trying to figure out where to put our bikes. How would you optimize for the best locations?"

What they're actually testing:

Do you ask clarifying questions before jumping to solutions?

Can you show your thinking process out loud, not just deliver a polished final answer?

How you handle ambiguity and incomplete information.

Do you use data, consider trade-offs, and think about user needs?

What trips people up:

People either freeze because they don't know the "right" answer, or they jump straight into solutions without understanding the problem.

PM interviews aren't Jeopardy, interviewers don't judge you on coming up with specific perfect details. Your thought process and high-level structure are what matter.

How to prepare for this round:

Practice product design questions out loud. Don't just think through them, say your thinking process as you go.

Always start by asking clarifying questions. For the bike share example, you might ask:

Then walk through your thinking out loud. "If our main goal is utilization, I'd start by looking at..."

They're looking for reasonable solutions and clear thinking, not perfection.

Here's what I got wrong (and what I see people get wrong all the time):

Misconception #1: You need to know all the frameworks

Frameworks are helpful shortcuts. But if you're relying on naming frameworks instead of explaining your actual thinking, you're missing the point.

The interviewer wants to know: Can you think through a problem logically? Can you prioritize? Can you make trade-offs?

You can do all of that without ever saying "RICE" or "Jobs to be done."

Misconception #2: There's a "right" answer

PM interviews test decision-making processes, not whether you land on some predetermined correct solution.

Two candidates can give completely different answers to the same question and both can be strong. What matters is how you got there.

Misconception #3: Product knowledge matters most

When candidates spend all their time talking about how they're a good fit but don't show how they'd serve the team they're interviewing with, it's hard for stakeholders to see them on the team.

Communication, collaboration, and showing genuine enthusiasm for the role matter just as much as your product chops.

This guide from Deel breaks down how to build one global hiring system. You’ll learn about assessment frameworks that scale, how to do headcount planning across regions, and even intake processes that work everywhere. As HR pros know, hiring in one country is hard enough. So let this free global hiring guide give you the tools you need to avoid global hiring headaches.

Download the free guide today

Try this exercise:

If it does, you're ready. If it doesn't, you're too dependent on frameworks and need to practice explaining your actual thinking.

Here's what I learned after bombing those early interviews:

Frameworks are useful. Know them. But don't let them become a crutch.

What hiring managers are really testing is whether you can think clearly, communicate well, and collaborate effectively—not whether you've memorized the right acronyms.

Show your thinking. Ask questions. Be genuinely curious about the problems you're solving.

That's what gets you hired.

See you next Friday,

– Stef

💬 Want to talk product? I'm mentoring on ADPList! If you're prepping for PM interviews, trying to figure out how to present your experience, or just need a practice round, you can book a free session with me right here.

📬 Other Newsletters You Might Like

If you like Stef the PM, here are a few other reads worth checking out: