A chat with Francisco, Sr. Product Manager at Amazon

Amazon l Mexico l Sr. Product Manager

A 60-min interview with Francisco Oyola, a Sr, Product Manager at Amazon.

Keep in mind that this interview only provides high-level guidance on how to better prepare for the interviews and illustrates the sort of relevant insights you can find by networking with people. It doesn´t intend to describe the interview process in detail. Enjoy the talk!

#1: What do you do as a Sr. Product Manager?

Initially, my role was centered on managing a retail catalog to ensure a positive customer experience and facilitate informed purchasing decisions, broken down into 3 main areas of work:

• Catalog Creation (Lifting): Building the catalog itself.

• Information Accuracy: Ensuring that all product details are correct.

• Improvement Projects: This involves using technology like AI and Machine Learning to automate the creation of relevant product information, pulling it directly from official vendor websites to avoid manual data entry.

My role has shifted to transportation now, with a focus on two primary goals:

Delivery Speed: Improving how quickly products are delivered to customers.

Increased Selection: Expanding the range of products available to as many cities as possible.

On a normal day, I usually have 2 to 3 meetings to track project progress and discuss ways to improve results, work on prioritization (deciding which projects to prioritize based on their potential impact), and create automation mechanisms to be more efficient.

#2: Why Amazon?

First, because of the tangible Impact: The work offers a lot of visibility, and you can see the impact of your efforts (you just need to go to Amazon website). This is very different from my previous roles in banking.

Second, high responsibility; the company demands a lot from each of us.

Finally, the learning curve: There was a steep learning curve, particularly around creating scalable, automatable, and auditable solutions or mechanisms. I had done similar work before, but this role provided a more defined and structured process, bringing a sense of order to the work. "Everything is measured in a predictable way".

#3: What defines the culture at Amazon?

The company's culture is heavily defined by its Leadership Principles.

These principles are not just a set of guidelines; they are actively used to drive decisions and day-to-day work. In meetings, employees often justify their ideas by arguing that a specific action aligns with one of the principles.

Customer Obsession is possibly the most important principle.

However, the specific principles each employee uses vary depending on the role. For example, analytical roles focus more on principles like Deep Dive, Think Big, and Deliver Results.

At the beginning of the recruitment process, my hiring manager highlighted the most important principles for the role I was applying to, so I could better prepare for those. If they do not tell you in advance, you can ask to the recruiter or hiring manager.

#4: How was your recruitment process?

First, I submitted an application with my resume.

Then, I had a quick screening call with basic questions such as openness to work at the office and salary expectations. After this, they sent me material to help prepare the interviews. There was a PDF explaining what each principle was about. I am not sure if every recruiter sends this material; but if not, it is a good idea to ask for it. Regardless, there are many videos on YouTube with explanations of each.

The rest of the process depends on the role you are interviewing for. For technical roles, for example, you can have SQL practical tests.

Since my position was senior, I had an exam about situations and the answers need to be focused on the principles. For example:

You arrive at work, and a colleague is sick, so he asks if you can take over his work. Doing that would delay your deliverables. What do you do?

One answer could leverage the principle of ownership, or another the principle of obsession.

Then I had several rounds of behavioral interviews ("tell me about a situation when you..."). The focus is 100% on behavioral questions. That said, it´s common that they often break the ice with "tell me about your resume" or "anything you want to share that it isn't in your resume?". Each story takes in total 10-15 min. Each interview is 45 min.

#5: How did you prepare the behavioral questions?

Before the interview:

Story Bank: I prepared around 25 stories. I had a core of 8-10 stories and then made small twists, so that they could fit different principles. It's crucial to know which story matches which principle.

The recruiter told me to prepare only 5 stories, but I don't recommend that. It's not ideal to repeat stories, and if you have 5 interviews with 3 questions each, you'll need enough unique content.

The number of stories can also depend on seniority; a junior person might not have 20 stories.

Recency and Relevance: The time or year of the story doesn't matter as much, but I focused on recent experiences (last 2-5 years) because they were fresher in my mind and easier to recall. I also focused on the roles that were most relevant to the new position.

During the interview:

Speaking: The interview can feel like a monologue because you have to tell a story, but interviewers can interrupt to ask questions. My recommendation is to follow these steps:

• Start by giving a summary of the story (20-30 seconds), and then begin.

• Use phrases that help explain where you are in the STAR framework (e.g., "It was X year, I had Y role, and I was at Z company").

• Use phrases like, "What was it that I did?" to transition from Task to Action.

• Ensure the interviewer understands the context. I would ask, "Are you familiar with this company?" if it wasn't well-known. This way, I didn't waste time providing unnecessary context, but I was sure they understood.

Credibility: It's common for people to exaggerate their experience, but make sure your story and numbers are realistic. If the numbers don't add up or seem unreasonable for the context, an interviewer will know.

Data-Driven Results: Results should always be data-driven. There can be exceptions (e.g., leadership stories) but the majority must have metrics. Even if it's not a measurable 20% increase, you can still talk about metrics like NPS (Net Promoter Score).

Handling Interruptions: If they don't understand something, they will interrupt. For example, they might ask, "And what was your role?" or "Did you decide that on your own?" It's important to answer the question directly without losing focus, and then continue with your story.

Language Skills: They will test your English level. So, be ready.