JUMP TO CONTENT

Product Management Interviews

We’re excited to help you prepare for your Product Management interview at Wise. 

Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to succeed. This guide will walk you through the key points we’re interested in and offer tips on how to present your experiences effectively. 

Product Managers at Wise are critical to delivering our mission. Let's get started!


Our interview process

Our interview process typically takes between four to five stages (each 60 mins) depending on the specifics of the role. Please note that we may customise some of the stages in accordance to the assessment criteria required for individual teams and roles.

Interview with a recruiter

A 30 minute Zoom call with a Recruiter

This is an introductory call with a focus on your experience and career aspirations.



1

Product interview

This is a 60 minute interview with one or two Product Managers.  

In-depth interview with a focus on your product skills and ability to solve meaningful customer problems.



2

Stakeholder collaboration interview

This is a 60 minute interview with members of our engineering, analytics or design teams. 

In-depth interview with a focus on building partnerships in a cross-functional team.

3


Final interview

This is a 60 to 90 minute interview with one or two Product Leads. Depending on the role and level, you may have the opportunity to meet our Chief Product Officer, Nilan Peiris.

Recap on your experience in building complex and impactful products.

4

Product interview

Our interview process is designed to understand your problem-solving and analytical skills, customer focus and collaboration together with hands-on experience, and how you measure success.

How to prepare

At Wise we look for Product Managers who give evidence of being able to operate as product 'builders'. Curiosity and growth mindset are at the heart of our product culture.

The team will be looking to assess how you would build a product: drawing from your experience on how to solve complex customer problems, and later how to collaborate with cross-functional teams. Clearly articulating the reasons behind your decisions is of a significant importance to the interviewers.

In addition to understanding your approach to past problems you solved, we may also use hypothetical questions or ‘microtasks’ to better assess your way of thinking.

We usually kick the interview off by discussing a product you owned most recently that had a significant impact for the customer. We love hearing about the details of high complexity problem that you solved.

Our assessment criteria:

  • Clear communication to articulate the problem you are trying to solve 

  • Identify and articulate the core issue affecting your customers

  • Explain how you identified the problem and prioritised it. What evidence or customer feedback supported your decision?

  • Explain how you developed a strategic plan to address the problem and prioritise actions based on impact and feasibility

  • Detail your direct contributions—design, coding, analytics, etc

  • Identify the essential steps you took to achieve the solution and ensure efficient execution

  • How you inspire and engage your team and cross-functional partners to work towards the solution 

  • And finally, how you execute and implement the plan and continuously measure progress to ensure success. What measurables have you put in place?

Stakeholder collaboration interview

You have successfully passed the Product interview at Wise and now it’s time for you to meet some of the stakeholders you will closely work with.

Depending on the role and the team you will be interviewing for, you may meet with engineers, analysts, designers, compliance leads, or other team members. 

How to prepare

At Wise, working in cross-functional teams and getting both engineering and design concepts on board from a product perspective is the key to successful collaboration.

This interview round is designed to assess your experience working with and influencing stakeholders in the likes of tech, compliance, operational, sales teams, etc. 

Remember, we don't expect you to be a designer or an engineer, but since our team is radically customer-focused, it's crucial for us that all team members have a good understanding of these areas. 

Our assessment criteria:

  • Your experience with dynamic, cross-functional collaboration, and your ability to motivate and inspire related teams
  • Clear communication in describing your tech and design understanding, affinity, and general approach when making product decisions 
  • Your ability to define KPIs and OKRs, and set baselines for the team
  • How you measure the success of technical projects and keep control of them, balancing between technical debt and growth
  • Making decisions when engineers in your team are stuck 
  • Influencing decision-making in your team with data
  • Your approach to tackle cross-functional team difficulties and unblock the wider team (engineers, designers, and analysts) to get to common solutions and a strong product roadmap
  • Discuss topics related to problem-solving and getting everybody on board with product decisions, while ensuring all teams are heard in the decision-making process.

Final interview

You are at the Final interview for a Product Manager role at Wise.

At this stage, you will likely meet with one or two of our Product Leads and depending on the role, you might also meet with our Chief Product Officer, Nilan Peiris.

How to prepare

This final interview is designed to recap on the overall interview assessment so far.

For leadership roles, the focus will be on your capacity to lead and mentor others. It’s also an opportunity for you to better grasp how your role will fit into Wise’s mission.

Our assessment criteria:

  • Recap on your experience with building impactful and complex products
  • Discuss how you prioritise and navigate ambiguity
  • Highlight examples of scalable solutions and future vision
  • Discuss why you believe customers need Wise and potential barriers to adoption
  • Consider industry factors, competitors, and team dynamics in your vision
  • Describe how you lead and inspire teams toward common goals
  • Describe your approach to making tough decisions
  • Discuss your experience in developing and managing team performance (if applicable, for leadership positions)
  • Describe how you lead and create an inclusive, supportive environment where all voices are valued

Tips to help you prepare

Before the interview

You’ll receive an email from Wise containing the details of the interview: when it will take place, who you will be meeting with and how it will be conducted. It can be an onsite interview where you get the opportunity to visit one of our offices (depending on your location), or a video interview via Zoom. We appreciate that technology and the internet doesn’t always run smoothly so please let your interviewers know if you’re experiencing difficulties.

If you haven't used Wise before, have a go at making a test transfer. You don’t have to complete it, but trialling the product will help you understand what it feels like to use Wise from a customer's perspective.

Getting set up

  • For remote interviews, a stable internet connection and a quiet environment are very important. Consider using a headset for better audio quality for both yourself and the interviewers.

  • We recommend joining the interview via video, not just audio to establish clearer communication and reduce misunderstandings. 

  • We’re a laid-back bunch, so feel free to dress comfortably.

At the interview

  • We use competency-based interviewing and will ask you to talk us through specific examples in your career that align to the various attributes and product skills we’re looking for. Unless specifically requested, avoid giving theoretical answers. We want to hear about real-world situations where you applied your skills and knowledge.

  • Make sure to provide a clear, articulate, step-by-step vision on how you approach certain topics, everything backed up by clear, tangible customer focused metrics. We’d recommend you to use the STAR interview technique  in the competency-based interviews.

  • Please bear in mind when answering: customer impact is above everything for us.

  • Most importantly, be yourself. It’s vital to us that you feel comfortable to express yourself fully. Make sure you have an understanding of Wise and our mission as well as the mission and objective of the team you are interviewing for. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to your recruiter.

List #1

Related blogs

From WiseWomenCode to Graduate Engineer

Teaser

Early careers

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

11/29/2024

Summary

Hello! My name is Jennifer, and I'm a self taught software engineer currently working in one of the engineering platform teams at Wise. My journey with Wise began when I joined

Teaser

Find out about Jennifer's incredible journey here at Wise. Starting in Customer Service in 2021, to becoming a Graduate Engineer in 2024.

Read more

by

Holly Sellers

by

Holly Sellers

Relocating: Embracing Life in Tallinn

Teaser

Our culture

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

11/05/2024

Summary

Meet Rajat, one of our Senior Developers We caught up with Rajat Meena, a Senior Developer, who made the move from Germany to join our team in Tallinn. He shares his inspiring journey, detail

Teaser

We caught up with Rajat Meena, a Senior Developer at Wise, who made the move from Germany to join our team in Tallinn. He shares his inspiring journey, detailing what motivated his relocation, the support he received from Wise, and his experiences settling in.

Read more

by

Verona Hasani

by

Verona Hasani

My career journey as a graduate software engineer

Teaser

Our work

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

11/16/2023

Summary

Why I joined Wise I joined Wise as a graduate engineer right after finishing university. One question I’m frequently asked is why I chose Wise to start my career. A few things a

Teaser

I joined Wise as a graduate engineer right after finishing university. One question I’m frequently asked is why I chose Wise to start my career.

Read more
Ali
My internship experience at Wise

Teaser

People profile

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

10/11/2023

Summary

My name is Ali Salman, I’m a last year computer engineering student at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. This summer, I was an engineering intern at Wise in Budapest for 10

Teaser

My name is Ali Salman, I’m a last year computer engineering student at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. This summer, I was an engineering intern at Wise in Budapest for 10 weeks.

Read more
My software development journey at Wise

Teaser

People profile

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

05/30/2023

Summary

Hi there! 👋 I’m Stella, a Software Engineer based in Budapest, Hungary. I joined Wise back in September 2022 and I’d love to walk you through how I became passionate about softwar

Teaser

I’m Stella, a Software Engineer based in Budapest, Hungary. I’d love to walk you through how I became passionate about software development and my journey at Wise so far.

Read more
The power of proximity

Teaser

People profile

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

04/18/2023

Summary

I’m Holden and I’m a Software Engineer on the Contact Handling team.  In my team, we build tools to support our Support.  What that boils down to is making sure our custo

Teaser

I’m Holden and I’m a Software Engineer on the Contact Handling team. I want to tell you why being a customer of Wise is a win-win decision, and how it’s helped me through my time at Wise.

Read more
Build your own future!

Teaser

People profile

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

03/31/2023

Summary

A bit about me Hey 👋🏽 I’m Jasleen and I’ve been here at Wise as a graduate software engineer since September. You may also remember me from a year ago too as I was also an int

Teaser

Hey 👋🏽 I’m Jasleen and I’ve been here at Wise as a graduate software engineer since September. You may also remember me from a year ago too as I was also an intern here at Wise!!

Read more
Solutions engineering at Wise

Teaser

Our work

Content Type

Blog

Publish date

02/01/2023

Summary

Solutions engineering is both the most accurate and most problematic job title I’ve ever had.It describes exactly what my team and I do at Wise, which is great, but it can also be inte

Teaser

Solutions engineering is both the most accurate and most problematic job title I’ve ever had.

Read more
View all
Search

Browse Jobs