r/interviews • u/Old_Appointment_3126 • 3d ago

I just got two very ironic declines after the presentation stage…

Both were senior product manager, AI roles. I was a data scientist for a couple years before switching to product and have always worked with AI/ML products. It’s been a very long time since I did data science and also things have obviously changed a lot since then too (even since my last job!). Adding that to say my background is really a mix of technical and business and I understand both sides.

Anyway both companies I made it to a round where I had to present the biggest product opportunity for each company and how I’d prioritize the roadmap. I basically used the same presentation for each because I don’t have a ton of free time (with slight tweaks for each company).

I got declines from both companies, which is fine, not the roles for me then! But the feedback I got is 🤣. One company said I was too technical. The other company said I wasn’t technical enough. I mean I gave essentially the same presentation (and of course in my opinion, it was the right balance in terms of business/technical and for a PM, but will reevaluate if I go through this again). Obviously the people I presented to and the companies themselves are the variables. But this is just the craziest market and I have to laugh sometimes.

80 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

26

u/pup5581 3d ago

Companies have NO idea what they want right now. No matter what industry

10

u/Actual_Confusion_838 3d ago

I agree with you. Employers think it’s a feast, not realizing they are only offering famine.

5

u/KnowKnews 3d ago

Customer. Customer. Customer.

Your background in AI and tech, as well as business, speaks to a technical product role.

My instinct is that you might not have inspired them about customer value, problem statement or the demand and market side of your solutions.

Context: I currently train product teams how to design customer centric AI features, it’s a massively big gap with teams that have come to the topic from technology.

2

u/Old_Appointment_3126 3d ago

Thank you so much for this! I will definitely keep this mind for the next round of interviews, and for that potential new job as well. I see this difference comparing myself to my peers who went to business school too, and it is something I’m trying to improve! 

5

u/dtelad11 3d ago

Oof. That sucks. Sorry to hear about the rejections. I'm not surprised, companies are flipping coins these days. 

3

u/Big-Astronomer-9800 3d ago

Tbh I always feel like it comes down to vibe and likeability. The market is full of really well qualified people.

2

u/Patiod 3d ago

Haha I was super skinny in college. Dated 2 guys at once, both took me out to a pizza place. I ordered a slice. One guy said "get 2, you're too skinny" and one said " get a salad, you going to get fat."

Same thing : no one is ever happy.

2

u/Dklrdl 3d ago

They will both use them. Thanks for making them $.

1

u/run_slow 3d ago

Nah, both just had a candidate they liked better. Both gave a technical explanation.

2

u/Life-Ocelot9439 2d ago

It's a jungle now.

Spoke to a very senior pal who's job seeking. 8 interviews, 5 of which involved different presentations.

They asked for a 9th. She declined.

.