Shopee Product Management (PM) Interview - 5 Things You Wish You Knew Before Applying!

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With its rapid growth, Shopee sees the need for more and more Product Managers yearly, which might lead one to assume that getting hired isn't all that difficult. On the contrary, PM interviews are challenging to say the least. The questions are tough, every so often specific to Shopee, and cover a wide range of topics.

However, the good news is that cracking the PM interviews is very achievable with the right preparation. Here at NodeFlair, we have gathered a pool of interview questions (and resources!) to help you get hired by Shopee. Want to take it a step further and truly MAXIMIZE your chances? Be on the lookout for the valuable tips scattered ahead. 

The information and questions are gathered from various sources from users who have gone through the interview process for roles. These sources include, but are not limited to, Glassdoor, Shopee Careers, forums and users we have interviewed.

Disclaimer:

While we do our best to ensure that the content is accurate and up to date by cross-checking it with a sizable number of individuals, we acknowledge that the questions might be changed over time, or it might vary across departments and interviewers. 

TL;DR:

  • Wide range of products at Shopee you should be familiar with
  • How to score a Product Management (PM) interview with Shopee
  • Shopee Interview Process: 3 to 4 rounds
  • Shopee Interview Questions: Experienced-based, Market Sizing, Strategy, Case Studies, Behaviorial and more!
  • Years of experience affects your salary + Expect 1-3 months of variable bonus! 💰

Main Products of Shopee

Before we dive straight into the interview questions, let us zoom in on the most fundamental element of product management - the products. Being a PM at Shopee, you ought to display your familiarity with their products. Being well-acquainted with the products you’ll be working with will greatly aid you in answering the questions with confidence. 

Don’t know where to begin your research? Fret not! We have put together a list of Shopee’s key products. familiarize yourself with them, especially the team you are applying for.

Note: The list is non-exhaustive and changes from time to time.

Scoring a Product Management interview with Shopee

Getting an interview is the first step to advancing through the hiring process. Just like any other company, there are a few ways you can land an interview with Shopee

  • Referral from a friend who’s already working there! 
  • A recruiter from Shopee reaches out to you on LinkedIn
  • Lastly, you can apply directly -  you can find the list of jobs here

TIP: Get a referral from a friend working at Shopee! It is statistically proven that applicants from referrals have a greater priority.

Here are 7 short actionable steps you can take to increase your chances of getting scouted on LinkedIn or have your resume be accepted during the initial screening!

What to Expect from the Interview Process

Not much is made known about the general progression of the recruitment process for PM at Shopee. Besides, surveying the experiences of previous applicants altogether, the procedure appears to vary to some degree from person to person. However, some similar patterns can be observed.

On average, the complete process lasts 3-4 weeks regardless of method of application, and consists of 3-4 rounds

  1. Online assessments (GMAT Data Sufficiency and Logical Reasoning) - Not all interviewees undergo this test, but according to test-takers, the questions are on a slightly higher difficulty level.
  2. HR interview
  3. Interview with the team and hiring manager (2-3 rounds)

Behavioural interview questions and case studies seem to be unavoidable for PM interviews at Shopee. Case studies can come in the form of market sizing and estimation, product iterations, product implementation and launch strategies. Continue reading to discover examples of questions you may face in the next section!

TIP : Don’t shy away from asking relevant and thoughtful questions regarding the role, work culture, opportunities etc. This is one of the best ways to demonstrate passion and interest for the job without coming across as overly desperate or superficial.

Product Manager Interview Questions for Shopee Singapore

The interview questions we’ve all been waiting for.  Beyond the ever-so generic “Tell me about yourself” sort of questions you’ll see elsewhere, these questions are largely specific to the PM role at Shopee. 

Memorising responses word for word may be of little help, especially since Shopee takes a fairly unusual approach to interview questions. If not careful, it may even come off as insincere or result in you going off at a tangent. Despite that, rehearsing some questions may allow you to gain a sense of what to anticipate and give you the edge over other potential candidates. 

TIP: Check out the description of the role you’re interested in if you haven't already. Knowing what the company is looking for would sharpen your responses and let them know you are the right candidate for the job.


Frequently asked Interview Questions 

Based on numerous personal experiences, these are recurrent questions you should be ready to face. Although there is no 100% guarantee you’ll be asked any of them, most interviewers would incorporate at least a few of these in their interactions.

General

  • What is a Product Manager, and why do you want to be one ?
  • Why do you want to join Shopee ?
  • Why do you want to work in the Singapore office?

Experience-based

Share a product you worked on / Explain a feature you have implemented

  • What are some difficulties you have faced?
  • How did you overcome difficulties faced?
  • Why are you proud of how you overcame the difficulties?

Personal opinions

How would you improve Shopee? 

  • How would you improve the current Shopee Mobile Application?
  • What features of Shopee can be improved?
  • What would you change about Shopee? How would you implement the change ?

What is your favourite product? 

  • What is your favourite product, both online and offline?
  • What features would you improve about it?
  • What do you think makes a good product?


Other Interview Questions

While these questions are less popular, it definitely does not mean they are of any less importance. If anything, they are trickier and require more technical knowledge. They have appeared in previous interviews at Shopee, and may or may not be repackaged.

General

  • What do you think is/are the most important trait(s) in a product manager?
  • How do you deal with multiple things?
  • What is the difference between Product Management and Project Management?

Market Sizing and Estimation

  • How many cinema tickets were sold during the pandemic in Jakarta?
  • How do you count the number of transactions in a restaurant at a mall?
  • How many buses are there in Singapore? 
  • Estimate the daily number of passengers in an airport
  • At 5pm on a normal day, can you tell me how many trains are active on our MRT tracks?

Analytical & Strategy-based

Product Requirements and Metrics Tracking

  • How do you measure your KPIs / track success?
  • If you were a product manager for an elevator, what are the product requirements and why?
  • If you are building an elevator system for an office building with 100 stories, what are the metrics you would measure?
  • How would you best determine the number of ads to display amongst our listings in a given page?

Product Development

  • How do you design a personalised strategy?
  • I want to design a XXX system: What problem do you see, and how would you resolve it?
  • How do you develop OCR Technologies (Optical Character Recognition)?
  • Tell me about the steps you would take to undergo QA (Quality Assurance) on a product.
  • What would you do when presented with XXX challenges while building a feature?
  • Create a UI sample to help sellers manage their stock

Problem Solving

  • You received information that your system is bad. How would you go about tackling this?
  • What would you do if customers complained a lot about their deliveries?

Others

  • How can Shopee increase customers in another new market?
  • How would you launch XXX in a new market?

Interpersonal and Behavioural

  • How would you handle a disagreement with your manager?
  • Share some difficulties you have faced when working with a different team and how you solved that
  • How do you persuade people to attend your meeting?
  • How do you get people to cooperate with you on a project?

Experience-based

  • Highlight one’s past experience that uses data
  • Have you ever initiated a project?
  • Familiarisation with testing method and ticketing system

Personal opinions

  • What are the 3 most used apps on your phone?
  • What is the problem you faced as a Shopee user?

Questions for Shopee Product Management Internship

As an internship applicant, you are not expected to have a wealth of “professional” experience to speak about. Besides that, the difference in questions asked is likely minimal. These are 3 examples of the questions previous internship candidates have faced.

  • Assess the use of social media sites for brand marketing
  • Describe a time where you had to work with uncertainty. How did you overcome it?
  • Do you have any experience on data analytics outside of school?

Shopee Product Management Salary and Pay

Based on NodeFlair Salaries, it seems while seniority and title do reflect one's salary at Shopee, years of experience matters quite significantly.

One can also expect to receive variable bonus ranging from 1 to 3 months!

Find this article useful? Here’s how you can benefit from it more!

Other interview resources:

Help keep this article updated

This article is only made possible thanks to fellow developers. Tech interview processes and questions might change over time, so If you have had an interview with Bytedance (or other companies), you are encouraged to contribute back!

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