A recruiter reached out to me and mentioned that they thought my background was suitable for a position at WU. I had a call with the recruiter, followed by a phone screen with the Hiring Manager. The hiring manager only wanted to know whether I’ve used Jira or not and didn’t really ask any questions pertaining to my experience. If a person had used any other tool such as Trello to something else to write stories, most likely they would be able to learn Jira pretty quickly. However, this seemed to be a deal-breaker for the HM as they did not ask me any further questions. I think Product Manager interviews must focus on interpersonal communications skills, general product management and technical skills, if the position desires that, rather than what tools you’ve used. If you’re aware of the processes, picking up on the tools may not be that difficult.

The process took about 3 weeks in total. It started with a short 20-minute screening call with a recruiter from HR, where they asked about my background, current role, and why I was interested in the position. After that, I had a 45-minute interview with the hiring manager (via Zoom), focusing on my past projects and how I handle remote teams. The third stage was a panel interview with two team leads and a stakeholder — they asked behavioral questions and gave a small case study about managing scope creep in a cross-functional project. No technical tests or presentations were required. Everything felt professional and straightforward, though the scheduling took some back-and-forth due to time zones. In the end, I received an offer within a week after the panel.