[Lewis C. Lin] Announcing A New Google PM Course

Happy New Year! 🥳

I'm happy to announce a brand new, second edition of my Google PM course. It's targeted for Google PM candidates of all levels.

How to Ace the Google Product Manager Interview, Second Edition

Over the last 10 years, my company has worked with 100s of candidates to secure Google PM offers. Here's what they say:

Just wanted to let you know that I got the Product Manager job at Google! Thank you to you and your team for the great prep courses; they really helped. – E.R.

I was offered and accepted the Product Manager position with Google. I started a few weeks ago, and I am working out of Mountain View. Thanks again for your assistance! – R.O.

I went onto the second phone interview, the face to face, and have just been extended an offer from Google for Product Management. Thank you! – B.A.

Wanted to reach out and let you know that I received a Google APM offer today. Thanks so much! – I.Y.

Hey Lewis! Just wanted to share some good news – I landed a PM internship at Google this summer. Thank you. It was really useful! Let me know if I can ever repay the favor. – L.R.

I just wanted to send you a quick note that I got an offer from Google! Thank you! – B.H.

I just wanted to let you know that I received an offer from Google today! Thank you soooo much for your help! – F.B.

In this course, I reveal secrets to the Google PM interview including:

• An insider's perspective on what Google is looking for in an ideal PM candidate

• A thorough discussion of the six interview components, starting from product design and ending with technical

• A candid conversation on whether you should expect brain teasers

• Six detailed interview prep modules including product design, technical, analytical, strategy, behavioral, and warm-up questions

Brand New Technical Section

This edition has a brand new technical section.

Unlike other companies, Google evaluates PM candidates on their technical ability. The course explains the three most common types of technical questions at Google:

• Technical trivia

• Data structures and algorithms

• System design

Technical Trivia

This course shares in-depth yet straightforward definitions for the most common trivia questions including:

• What is an API?

• What is MapReduce?

• What is machine learning?

• What is the CAP theorem?

• What's the difference between TCP vs. UDP?

The course also goes into detail on the most common cloud concepts including:

• Compute (EC2)

• Load balancing

• Serverless computing (Lambda)

• Containers (Kubernetes)

• Object storage (S3)

The cloud concept review is particularly ideal for Google Cloud Platform candidates.

Data Structures and Algorithms (DS)

The course offers a memorable five-step framework for tackling algorithm questions. The best thing about the framework: it doesn't use complicated technical jargon.

The course also reviews solutions to three popular algorithm questions:

• Reversing a string

• Checking if a string is a palindrome

• Finding duplicate characters in a string

System Design

System design is becoming the most favored category for Google's technical interview.

In this module, I share my brand new six-step framework, PEDALS™, to help you get through a system design question. It also includes a comprehensive example, design an air traffic controller, that illustrates how you can apply the PEDALS framework.

This course costs $82 USD. Let me help you secure a Google PM job offer, using the same tips and wisdom I've used with successful clients.

Best,

Lewis C. Lin

PS I've also launched a brand new edition of my Facebook PM interview course. 🎉

Google Product Manager Interview Cheat Sheet (PM or APM)

CIRCLES Method™ featured in Business Insider

Let me start with good news. Decode and Conquer (D&C) sales have been scorching 🔥 this month!

If you've been following who gets job offers from Facebook 👥  and Google, you know that candidates prefer D&C over other PM interview prep books. 

Google's recruiters are also big fans of D&C.

Business Insider revealed that Google's recruiters prescribe my CIRCLES Method™ as the #1 method when preparing for product design questions.

Google recruiters also recommend my on-demand, coding interview prep materials too.

Brand New Google Product Manager Interview Cheat Sheet

Speaking of Google, I'm honored to share a brand new Google PM interview cheat sheet with all of you.

It's fun, colorful, and Googley. More importantly, it covers all the different question types you'd encounter at the interview including product design, technical, analytical, and strategy. 

This cheat sheet is based on my latest book, Secrets of the Product Manager Interview.

The Biggest Mistake Google PM Candidates Make

Google PM candidates erroneously believe that they the reason they didn't get a Google PM offer is because they failed the whiteboard coding interview.

That's incorrect.

#1 reason why candidates fail: poor responses to product design questions. 

What are product design questions? Here are two examples from actual Google interviews:

• How would you design a better smoke detector?
• Design an new iPad app for Google spreadsheet.

Product design questions aren't covered by the standard MBA curriculum nor consulting case interview prep.

There are a few reasons why product design questions are so challenging:

• Suffocating time pressure. Great products, such as the iPhone are not built in a day, let alone a 45-minute interview.
• Limited domain knowledge. How can candidates suggest smoke detector innovations if they don't know how they work?
• No support. Real-life innovation happens in teams; team members can build on each other's ideas. No such support system exists in a solitary closet-sized interview room.

To do well requires lots of practice. And the best place to start is the CIRCLES Method™.

How to Download the Google PM Interview Cheat Sheet

If I had a Google PM interview, and I could only bring one cheat sheet...this would be it.

Print out the high-resolution version of this cheat sheet, available in both JPG and PDF.

Conquer those interviews,

Lewis C. Lin

Lewis C. Lin's Newest Book for 2017 – Secrets of the Product Manager Interview

I am excited to announce my newest book, Secrets of the Product Manager Interview.

Here's what's new:

I've collected over 10 years of questions from my readers, coaching clients, and workshop attendees. I've answered them and extracted the essence. Now, I'm revealing those secrets with you.

Here's what I divulge in the new book:

▪ What to expect at Google, Facebook, Uber & Amazon interviews
▪ How to get your first product manager job
▪ The most efficient way to prepare
▪ What are the biggest interview mistakes and how to avoid them
▪ How to really impress the interviewers
▪ A Google insider's take on how to interpret interviewer feedback
▪ Which companies are the best for product managers who want to make it to the top
▪ The latest advice on how to deal with the dreaded take-home assignments

This book is different from my other Amazon.com bestsellers, Decode and Conquer and PM Interview Questions. On the one hand, those books are focused on frameworks and practice questions. On the other hand, this new book, Secrets of the Product Manager Interview, is focused on my secrets, answers, and everything you need to know about the product manager interview process.

And yes, this book is available in paperback and Kindle.

Good luck with those interviews,

Lewis C. Lin

P.S. I'll be completing my last workshop for the 2016-2017 season on March 25th at the University of Texas! If you're attending, please introduce yourself and say hello!

P.P.S. For those that I met in 2016-2017 at my half and full-day workshops, the honor was mine. Here are my favorite attendee quotes:

Stanford University

"Lewis, your interview workshop was a tremendous learning experience! I sense your passion for product management and your desire to help students like me prepare for PM interviews! I wish I had your workshop before my Google and Facebook PM interviews last year."

Columbia University

"I loved the interactive exercises. It was fun, and I learned. I only wish our regular professors would teach course material Lewis Lin's way."

University of Chicago

"Content-wise, the workshop yesterday was super helpful. Lewis Lin's presentation & training is very professional."

University of Washington

"I learned a lot from Lewis Lin's interview workshop. The best part of the talk, other than the tools and tactics, was the engagement model. You gave us an opportunity to not only exercise our brain muscles but also work in teams. It was a great learning experience."

University of Utah

"I cannot thank you enough for making the trip out to Salt Lake City. You completely blew it out of the water today, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from you. The students got a lot out of the session, and they will surely be more prepared for interviews. You were incredibly inspiring and have a true gift presenting to groups."

University of California, Berkeley

"Having Lewis Lin lead a product management interview workshop is the most relevant and useful PM career prep I've received during my time at Haas."

University of California, Irvine

"It was a pleasure attending your workshop. I admire that your mother had the opportunity to attend. I can imagine how proud she must be seeing the great work you are doing to help others succeed in their career."

"Today's workshop was amazing! The best part is to attend the author's workshop and to meet him in person. It makes my future preparation and reading more interesting. I now have a clearer picture, visualizing concepts described in the book and better connecting the dots better!"

Tech Interview Workshop at UC Irvine. Nov. 5, 2016.