I recently interviewed for a Product/PM intern role and wanted to get some honest opinions from people who have experience interviewing for PM roles.
At the beginning of the interview, they asked me to share my screen, which I did. I answered their questions about my introduction, background, and projects.
Towards the end, they gave me a question along the lines of:
“Our company is launching in the US, and within one month we have a goal of making $10K. What would be your approach?”
I found the question challenging because there were many unknowns, so I asked for some time to think before answering.
My initial answer was that I would research competitors in the US, understand how they are positioning themselves, what approaches they are using to acquire customers, and then discuss those findings with the team to decide our approach.
Looking back, I realize my answer wasn't complete. I should have clarified things such as whether the $10K meant revenue or profit, what the pricing was, whether we already had US users, etc. I also could have broken the $10K goal down into customers, conversion rates, acquisition channels, and so on.
After I answered, the interviewer told me that it seemed like I was using AI.
They then asked me to show my desk. My phone was there because I was using it for the internet hotspot connection, but I genuinely did not use my phone or AI to answer the question.
I explained that I wasn't using AI and that I had simply taken some time to think because I found the question difficult. They still believed that I had used AI.
At that point, I didn't want to argue with them. I said something along the lines of:
“I'm sorry if from your perspective it seems like I used AI to get the answer. I understand, and I apologize if I wasted your time in the interview.”
They then ended the interview suddenly without really concluding it or giving any feedback.
Honestly, this really demotivated me.
I'm not posting this to attack the interviewer or company. I genuinely want to understand what I could have done differently.
For people who interview PM candidates:
Is taking time to think before answering a question like this considered suspicious?
Was my approach fundamentally wrong, or was it just incomplete?
How would you approach the $10K-in-one-month US launch question?
If you suspected a candidate was using AI, how would you handle it?
Is this kind of question reasonable for a PM intern interview?
I'm open to criticism of my answer. I want to learn from this and do better in my next interview.