Bijan Shahrokhi 
Hey there! Want to land your dream product manager job? We’ve got you covered.
Check out our 2,500+ product manager interview questions database with answers from expert product managers.
Article Contents
In a perfect world, every question you field in a product manager (PM) interview would have a defined answer. Every question would have a “black and white” answer. But that’s not reality. You should expect one ambiguous question after the next.
These questions help the interviewer determine if you’re capable of thinking on your feet and finding a clear path forward despite the vague nature of the question.
Here’s an example: when you scroll down on LinkedIn, should videos autoplay or not?
This isn’t a yes or no question. There are pros and cons to both options. There are various tradeoffs to consider.
Here’s another example: what should LinkedIn do next?
The word “next” means something different to everyone. Does next mean within 12 months? In the next one to three years? Over the next five to 10 years?
With all this in mind, it’s time to lay out the finer details of dealing with ambiguous questions in a PM interview.
Arrive at some kind of clarity as soon as possible
This is job number one. You need to arrive at some kind of clarity as soon as possible. Do this by narrowing down the scope of the question.
To start, make assumptions based on the question and clearly communicate them. This narrows down the scope, which provides clarity to both you and the interviewer.
For instance, if you’re facing a product design question, you can narrow it down by demographic, user interface, user group, or geographic location.
The same basic approach holds true for product strategy questions. Take for example the question “what should Amazon do next?”
You can’t successfully answer this question until you narrow down the scope. And that starts by clarifying the time range. One to three years? Three to five years? Five to 10 years?
The answer to what Amazon should do next is much different when you’re comparing one year to five or 10 years.
To sum up this step, make several assumptions and communicate them to the interviewer. Let the interviewer challenge your assumptions, provide feedback, and move forward with your narrowed scope once you’re on the same page.
Find the best path forward
Once you narrow down the scope, consider a few paths forward within that scope. This is where the many hours that you put into preparing for your PM interview kick in. You’ll naturally begin to think about the paths that are in front of you.
From there, decide on the evaluation criteria that are suitable for the potential paths in front of you. Take for example a strategic question that will have both a short and long-term impact on the company. This forces you to look at the big picture.
Think about what’s most relevant to the CEO and other high-level executives. This can be everything from marketing to finances to time to market. The key here is relevancy. What evaluation criteria are relevant to the path you’ve chosen to take?
Types of ambiguous questions
No matter how much you prepare, you never know exactly what types of questions you’ll receive in a product manager interview. That’s why you do your best to prepare for anything that could come your way.
However, the more you practice answering ambiguous questions the easier it becomes to do so. Here are some examples:
- What should Google do next in regards to search?
- What’s the best path forward for our startup?
- What’s the best and fastest way to boost revenue?
- Do you think Microsoft should acquire an AI startup?
- Should Facebook enter a new market?
- How much should our startup spend on advertising and marketing new products?
- What feature should we release next?
- How can LinkedIn expand in the future?
These are all ambiguous questions. They’re open to more than one interpretation, so you can’t “dive right in” and hope for the best. Follow the above advice to bring clarity to the question and pin down the best path forward. Only then can you share a thoughtful answer.
Final tip: clear communication is a must
It’s not good enough for you to know the approach you’re going to take. A big part of successfully dealing with ambiguous questions is to clearly communicate your thoughts to the interviewer.
Here’s an example of what you could say before you begin to answer the question:
“The reality is that there are many ways to think about and answer this question. In this case, I am going to focus on [x] time period and [y] user group.”
Your goal is to define the parameters you’re using to answer the question. By doing so, you’re no longer dealing with an ambiguous question. You’re now answering a clearly defined question. This makes your job easier while proving to the interviewer that you can think through a process one logical step at a time.
Final thoughts
The above guidance should help you better deal with ambiguous questions in a PM interview. Without this approach, you’ll struggle to provide a well-thought-out, thorough answer to the question. And when that happens, you don’t put your best foot forward.
If nothing else, there are three things to remember:
- Arrive at clarity as soon as possible.
- Consider the best path forward by comparing several options.
- Decide on the evaluation criteria.
As you’re doing these things, you’re also telling the interviewer how you’re approaching the question. This gives them insight into your thought process.
Practice makes perfect, so be sure to review as many ambiguous questions as possible before your interview. This allows you to model potential frameworks in advance.
Review our list of 2500+ product manager interview questions to get started. You’ll find ambiguous questions in almost every category. If you need a starting point, navigate to product strategy questions. Not only will you find a long list of ambiguous questions, but you can also filter by company. This allows you to prepare for the exact types of questions that have been asked in the past.
