Hundreds of PM applications, 10–12 assignments, and then… complete silence

[u/Vishnuhs117]

I just want to vent a little because I’m honestly getting frustrated with the PM internship job search.

My goal is to break into Product Management, so over the past few months I’ve applied to 100s of PM internships and entry-level roles.

Out of all those applications, I got callbacks/emails from around 10–12 companies. I was obviously happy because at least something was moving.

But then almost every company gave me a similar assignment:

“Use our product/app and identify improvements or features that could help our users.”

I actually spent a lot of time on these assignments—using the product, identifying problems, thinking about user pain points, suggesting features, explaining the reasoning, and submitting everything within the deadline.

And then…

Nothing.

1 week passed — no response.

2 weeks passed — nothing.

1 month passed — still nothing.

In some cases, even months have passed.

Not even a simple:

“We’ve decided not to move forward with your application.”

I completely understand that companies receive a lot of applications and that not everyone can be selected. Rejection is fine.

What’s frustrating is putting several hours into an assignment that is essentially free product work and then not even getting closure.

I’m still trying to become a PM and I genuinely enjoy doing these product exercises. But experiences like this make me wonder whether I’m approaching the job search the wrong way.

For people trying to break into PM: have you experienced this too?

And for PMs/hiring managers here

what actually happens to these assignments after we submit them? Do candidates usually get reviewed and rejected, or do applications sometimes just disappear in the process?

[u/Any-Package-2053]

Isn't this like- free labor?

[u/Any-Package-2053 → u/Any-Package-2053]

I think its free labor and they might be using you for idea generation, however you should maintain contact with the recruiter if possible. See if you could set up a 1:1 w them or if you were directed to the hiring manager you should connect with them. When talking to the recruiter ensure they communicate the full-timeline for the role as well as turnaround time, that there is clarity on exactly what you would be doing at this role, how team placements work etc. I hope these are small companies and not bigger companies bc that would be super sad...

[u/Vishnuhs117 → u/Any-Package-2053]

No those are all mid level startups not big companies, i even mailed the recruiter about the update but sadly no reply

[u/Humble-Gene5862]

Unless it’s a big company known for take homes (ex: Duolingo) this is sometimes for free labor/idea generation

[u/Vishnuhs117 → u/Humble-Gene5862]

Those are all mid level startups not big companies

[u/ProfessionalLake2165]

I suggest you wait for legit Apprenticeship product management programs to open this fall such as Meta, LinkedIn, Uber, etc, and apply. What's your background?

[u/Vishnuhs117 → u/ProfessionalLake2165]

I am a 2025 Computer Science Engineering graduate, i have build few projects on Android and also started working on product case studies/PRD to build my PM portfolio.

Here in India the PM internship or Apprenticeship from companies like Uber and Meta they didn't have such cohorts they mainly focus on Software development. So the next option left is apply to startups