What to Expect: Uber Homework Assignment
The first round is a homework assignment. The homework assignment prompt typically asks the candidate to consider an Uber feature or product that is on the market but has not realized its full potential. The candidate is then asked to:
- Analyze the product or feature
- Recommend improvements, which includes taking the audience through the full product life cycle
Sometimes candidates talk about the homework in subsequent interview rounds; sometimes not.
What to Expect: Uber Interview Questions
After the homework assignment, candidates are usually invited to 1-2 phone interviews and then an half-day, on-site interview. The interview questions for both the phone and on-site are similar. And unlike other tech companies, Uber does not ask technical or coding interview questions for PM roles. (Note: That they still prefer technical candidates, given that candidates are building technical products and interact frequently with engineers.)
Traditional and behavioral. Sample questions include:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why Uber?
- Tell me a time when you influenced engineering to build a feature they didn't want to build.
- Design. Example questions include:
- Improve the Uber passenger pick-up experience.
- How can Uber attract and subsequently on-board more drivers in a measured way?
- Pricing. Example questions include:
- Invent a new Uber product. How would you price it?
- Metrics. Example questions include:
- What should be the main success metric for UberPool?
- What metric would you measure if we're focused on improving the Uber pick-up experience?
- Analytics. Sample questions include:
- How much does an Uber driver in NYC make in a day?
- If 1,000 people opened the Uber app during one hour, how many cars do you need on the road?
- Strategy. Sample questions include:
- We're about to expand UberPool. What cities should we expand to?
- Go-to-market. Sample questions include:
- How would you approach rolling out an ultra high-end service line within Uber (i.e. one that offered Rolls Royce or Bentley cars)?
- How would you go about launching a new Uber product in city X?
How to Prepare: Uber Homework Assignment
- Conduct a task analysis using the template provided in Alan Cooper's About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Brainstorm new ideas using Michalko's Thinkertoys. Wireframe your ideas using Sketch.
How to Prepare: Uber Interview Questions
- Traditional. Write and verbally practice these interview questions. For example inspiration, I'd recommend Interview Magic.
- Product design. Practice leading design discussions using a framework like the CIRCLES Method™.
- Metrics. During the interview, brainstorm a list of potential metrics and rationalize your preferred metric. A simple pros and cons list will do.
- Pricing & Analytics. Grab a copy of Interview Math and get comfortable solving estimation, pricing, and break-even questions
- Strategy. No need to use Porter's Five Forces or any other management consulting framework. It'll feel a little too canned and heavy. Instead, just use a simple pros and cons list.
- Go-to-market. Treat this like a project management exercise. That is: what's the goal? What are the critical tasks, milestones, and dependencies? And be prepared to drill down and talk about each item in more detail.
SEE ALSO: Uber Interview Questions and Answers
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