Interviewing VR/AR Product Manager

Hiring the right Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Product Manager can make a world of difference in your company’s success. For the role, having good technical know-how, problem-solving skills, and strong communication and time management skills are essential. The product managers are responsible for driving the product strategy, roadmap, and execution of VR/AR products. So, hiring the right VR/AR Product Manager is a spin on your product team. So, before making an interview strategy, the interviewer has complete knowledge of the product and can ask the right questions. Let’s see first which skill should have a VR/AR Product Manager.

Interviewing E-Commerce Operations Manager

Critical Skills for a VR/AR Product Manager

Any VR/AR Product Manager has a strong understanding of VR/AR technologies, industry trends, and experience in product management, including defining product requirements and creating product roadmaps. Most importantly, he should be excellent in communication and collaboration. They should be able to analyze market and user data to inform product decisions and have various product management tools. These skills should be used by any product manager.

A quick take on interview structure

You can split your interviewing structure into:

Round 1: Preliminary Phone Screen (30 Minutes)
Round 2: Technical Interview (60 Minutes)
Round 3: Product Management Interview (60 Minutes)
Round 4: Case Study Presentation (90 Minutes)

Every phase is equally essential for an interview, but I think the right questions will decide if the VR/AR Product Manager is right for your company. So, I will suggest some significant questions that should be asked and why.

Five Interview Questions to Ask When Interviewing a VR/AR Product Manager

How do you prioritize the functionalities of the products you manage?

The candidate will indicate any of the mentioned forms. He will highlight those he has previously implemented, their advantages, and reasons for application. Therefore, it will prioritize the development of functionalities to benefit the company and its customers.

Let me introduce you to our product. What kind of improvements do you see?

With this question, you will know the type of improvements that the candidate identifies in your company’s product, indicating how they will help the product perform better. Therefore, you will focus your response on whether the platform has the features and functionalities that solve the client’s problem.

In your experience, how do you measure the success of a product?

According to the candidate, the question is focused on knowing the factors that determine the success of a product. Therefore, the candidate will mention metrics that show that the platform met the company’s and its customers’ expectations.

What challenges have you faced as a Product Manager?

The candidate will discuss the challenges she has faced as a Product Manager, mentioning typical problems. She will then indicate what she learned from each one and how this helped her gain the experience necessary to launch quality products.

What methods do you use to recognize problems that customers experience?

The candidate will mention some of the above methods, recognizing the importance of research in developing functionalities that add value to the client. This guarantees the implementation of features that take into account the users’ opinions, experiences, and sensations.

General Interview Question List for VR/AR Product Manager.

1. What product were you working on? What market phase and product phase were you working on? What was unique about the product that differentiated it from its competitors?

2. What was your area of responsibility? In your opinion, is this area of responsibility typical or atypical?

3. If there were tasks to increase indicators, then what specific ones? Describe the state before (at the time of your arrival), expected (what was expected of you), and after actual (what was accomplished).

4. What was done to achieve these indicators (in order)? What implementation tools were used, and what output did they provide?

5. What significant challenges have you faced?

6. What product metrics were there? How often were they reported, and how were they monitored? Was there some kind of dashboard?

7. Have quantitative and qualitative studies been conducted (differences, application, representativeness, sampling)?

8. What prototyping tools did you use?

9. What were the most critical problems encountered?

10. How did you build communication with stakeholders? Was it ever the case that the opinions of several stakeholders contradicted each other? What did you do about it?

11. How did you measure the effectiveness of the product development team? How did you build management and interaction?

12. What has been your biggest professional mistake? What conclusions did you draw from it?

13. What do you read/listen to, and where do you gain professional knowledge? Podcasts, articles?

14. Try to rate yourself professionally as a product on a 10-point scale. What’s missing before 10?

You now have a list of questions to make your interview with a Product Manager easier. Use them in your subsequent recruitment and selection process. Remember, ask the questions that will help you choose the right talent.