Overall, the interviews are designed to help you, your potential manager, and the team collect all information necessary to make a decision. At Zalando, we want you to feel well prepared and have created a process for you that we will guide you through. If further questions arise, feel free to reach out to your Talent Acquisition Partner at any point in the process. We are more than happy to catch up with you directly.
Applying at Zalando
After your application is reviewed and selected by the hiring team, the interview process for product management roles at Zalando typically consists of several steps:
- an initial call with a Talent Acquisition Partner
- a preliminary interview with the manager who is hiring or a team member
- the final interview round, consisting of 4 deep-dive interviews
The average interview process takes about 2-3 weeks, depending on the availability of the candidates and interviewers. The focus of the final round may be different depending on the type of role and will be different for the individual contributor or people management track.
The 4 final interviews don't have to happen on the same day, in fact, we encourage candidates to distribute them across multiple days to optimise interview performance.
A closer look at each stage of the interview process
Initial call with a Talent Acquisition Partner (30min) - During this session, we would like to better understand your motivation, expectations, and what accomplishments you have had in your career so far. This call will also help you to gain a better understanding of the position, the business area and the Zalando culture in general. Bring your initial questions on the position and Zalando culture to this call.
Preliminary interview (30-60min) - In this session with your potential future lead or a peer, you’ll have an opportunity to share insights into your core product management experience, your impact, how you overcame challenges and how you measure success. We are curious to hear how you approach complex projects and understand your way of collaborating with your team and other teams.
This interview is also your chance to get more insights into the position you applied for and the team you would join. Ask questions - don’t be shy!
Final interview round:
Before diving into the details of different interviews at this final stage, we would like to note two things:
- First of all, congratulations! Reaching this stage means that we already believe you are a really good Product Manager.
- The best way to prepare for the entire final round of the interview is to reflect on your professional experience overall and identify multiple examples showcasing your skills that you prepare to share with our interviewers. We are truly looking for a variety of examples.
The 4 deep-dive interviews
Product management tools and methods (45min) - Leading product work to achieve goals and create impact is one of the expectations for all Product Managers at Zalando.
During this interview, you will have a chance to showcase your end-to-end product management cycle experience as a part of a larger technical team. You can expect the interviewer to verify your ability to operate in the problem and solution space as well as acting on the strategy and vision. Don’t shy away from sharing your learnings from the products that didn’t perform or behave as expected.
Commercial Leadership (45min) - The purpose of the commercial leadership is to understand how you go about the business impact of your work.
During the interview, you should present your understanding of commercial KPIs and the overall business industry you’re operating in. Make sure to explain how you identify business opportunities in alignment with the company strategy and how you drive business success with your products. In all that commercial impact do not forget about the customer focus, of course.
Stakeholder management (45min) - The focus is on your level of expertise in collaborating with others. During this session the interviewer will try to understand how you manage different stakeholders, how complex your stakeholder environment is and how you communicate with different types of audience. Leading by influence is crucial for the product management role at Zalando, which is why we would like to hear how you share a compelling product vision.
Analytical thinking and generation of actionable insights (45min) - Data focus is one of the pillars of how we operate at Zalando. In this session, we encourage you to think of a really complex problem you had the opportunity to solve and outline, which methods for analysis for understanding a problem and defining a solution you used to get there. Present your structured data-driven approach, dive deep into different types of metrics, and you will ace this interview.
Creativity & Innovation (45min) - At Zalando, we embrace brainstorming and creative processes that can inspire our colleagues, customers and partners. Finding creative ideas, trying different solutions and evaluating diverse viewpoints is what drives our success. The aim of this interview is to to learn about your approach towards innovation, and your experience of working on new product ideas or features.
Here are a few general tips to prepare for your interview process for product management at Zalando:
- Research Zalando's product management community
- Get a better understanding of the company's culture, commitment to Diversity and Inclusion and have a look at our company values in our Founding Mindset
- Find out more about the teams and leaders in our product departments on the careers blog
- Ask questions. Think beforehand what you would like to know from your potential manager and about Zalando in general. There is a lot of inspiration available online.
- We would encourage you to check-out some product management blogs - e.g. svpg.com, mindtheproduct.com
- Explore the STAR interview method - example of a book you could refer to is “Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology (Cracking the Interview & Career)” by Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro
The interview process is as much about ensuring that Zalando is a good fit for you as it is about you being a good fit for Zalando.
In summary, the interview process for product management roles at Zalando is designed as a chance for you to learn more about the role you have applied for, the culture at our company, and about your potential future manager and team. It also helps us assess your experience and core product management skills, collaboration, problem-solving, and analytical abilities as well as creativity and innovation.
We want you to feel well-prepared, so don't be afraid to ask questions or reach out to your Talent Acquisition Partner for support throughout the process.
Curious, but you haven’t applied yet? Apply today for one of our open Product Management Positions.
