I’ve found that no matter what, part of the product manager interview process involves asking the failure question to prospective candidates.
The popular failure question usually looks like the following:
“Tell me about a time when you failed.”
It’s a daunting question, especially if you’re not used to interviewing as a product manager!
In the past, whenever I heard this question, I went immediately on the defensive. To me, it felt like the interviewer was out to get me.
But now that I’ve been on the other side of the interview process as an interviewer, I finally understand why employers ask this thorny question about failure.
So, let me first share with you the reasons for why employers ask this question, so that we understand what they’re trying to get at. Then, I’ll share a framework for how to best address the question.
Clement Kao has published 60+ product management best practice articles at Product Manager HQ (PMHQ). Furthermore, he provides product management advice within the PMHQ Slack community, which serves 8,000+ members. Clement also curates the weekly PMHQ newsletter, serving 27,000+ subscribers.