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Tell me a piece of difficult feedback you received and how you handled it.

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S: First review with my manager, after one month of my joining. There he expressed discontent regarding my document writing skills, which lacked the strategic thinking and looks more like a project execution document and wanted me to improve it sooner.

T: I graciously took the feedback and had to put a plan into action to ensure I am able to improve my writing skills

A: I took high level feedback from my manager, spoke to senior colleagues in my team and discussed my document structure with them to understand the gaps in my writing and thought process. I also did research over the internet on writing strategy docs. Combining everything, I created a structure in my mind and started writing my documents in that structure. I also took feedback during the initial few days from my colleagues on whether I am doing it right or not. Eventually, a couple of months later, I was able to create detailed strategy documents which looked much more professional and catering to the right audience for whom it is intended.

 

R: During the quarterly review, my manager was delighted to see the way I took his feedback and incorporated it into my writing skills. He appreciated my current way of document writing and even shared with new members as well to refer to this as a guardrail while writing product documents.

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I will use STAR technique to answer this

Situation-  I was once assigned as a product manager for a information solutions product. I was still in the beginning stages of career and learning the ropes of being a product manager. Hence I did not spend lot of time with the development stakeholders and hence would end up in conflicts that would lead to misplaced priorities and delayed timelines

Task- This resulted in negative feedback from the development team and loss of trust with them. My job was to restore the working relationship and iron out conflicts between stakeholders

Action- I worked on the following areas

1) Conducted sessions to explain the overall product vision and blue prints

2) Obtained perspectives, addressed clarifications and colloborated on tradeoffs and alternatives

3) Spoke on behalf of the development team members while having discussions with the business team

4) Kept my word on action items and developed respect/trust through the course of the engagement

Results-

The action above resulted in improving relationships, a healthier working environment and manifestation into product success. The product was eventually launched 2 months earlier than the planned and financially successful for the company

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Get access to 2,346 pm interview questions and answers to give yourself a strong edge against other candidates that are interviewing for the same position
Get access to over 238 hours of video material containing an interview prep course, recorded mock interviews by expert PMs, group practice sessions, and QAs with expert PMs
Boost your confidence in PM interviews by attending peer to peer mock interview practices, group practices, and QA sessions with expert PMs