How to Get a Product Management Job at Twitter
Years ago, when we were all tapping out 140-character tweets about our favorite movies on our Blackberry Curves, did we envision it to be one of the most influential communication platforms of the 21st Century?
Not many predicted that this little bluebird would come to represent a mass of global communication. From international politics being played out in front of our eyes, to funny subculture content. You’ll find all of it on Twitter.
If you want to help shape the future of this media giant, especially at this turning point in how people communicate, we can help. Here’s everything you need to know to get that Product Manager job at Twitter.
Job Overview
Average salary for a Product Manager: $228,281 USD
Benefits: Free food, travel, health insurance, gym (including yoga and HiiT classes), and flexible working.
Locations: Various locations spanning 5 continents.
- Asia: Bengaluru, New Delhi, Singapore, Tokyo.
- Europe: Dublin, London, Paris.
- North America: Atlanta, Boston, Boulder, Cambridge, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Washington DC.
- Oceania: Sydney.
- South America: São Paulo.
Background required for PM Role: A background in engineering, computer science, or a related technical field preferred.
Want to see how this job compares to others? Check out The Future of Product Management
Company Values
Twitter is particularly invested in promoting diversity and safe spaces for employees. It operates under an ethos of being #OneTeam, with collectives for employees with disabilities, Latinx, Asian, black, LGBTQIA, parents, veterans, and women.
Flexibility is another top priority for Twitter, which encourages employees to develop full and healthy lives outside of work. If you’re a Product Manager who loves a good hobby, this could be the place for you.
Background and Transition
If you’re right at the start of your career, Twitter has a resource specifically for helping University students land their first internship. Without some background experience in product, landing a job straight in the product teams at Twitter is unlikely. So an internship could be a valuable first step, allowing you to transition to product when you already have a foothold in the company.
With so many locations, if you have the education and the experience, there are always plenty of positions to apply for! Twitter is a great place to consider if you’re currently in a more technical role, as they love Product people with technical backgrounds.
If you don’t have a technical background, it could be useful to get some tech experience at your current company, or consider a side-project.
The Interview Process
Interviewing at Twitter is rated as ‘Average’ in terms of difficulty.
Step 1: The introduction phase. You’ll either be contacted by a recruiter, or you’ll have applied through job portals or Twitter’s careers website. This is the smallest step, but arguably the most important one. Make sure your resume has been tailored specifically to a job at Twitter. Look through what they’re asking for as see how well you can match that.
If you’re speaking with a recruiter, they just want to make sure you match the criteria for the role, and gauge your availability.
Step 2: The phone interview. You’ll be invited to a phone interview with 1–2 people, if your background is a match for the role. This may be with a hiring manager and someone from the product team.
Step 3: Onsite interviews. You’ll be invited to the offices 1–2 times and will interview with up to 10 people. This is the teams’ chance to really get to know you, and will be looking for things like culture fit and work ethic.
Example Interview Questions
While you can find a huge plethora of Product Manager interview questions right here, we’ve trawled the web to bring you questions asked in real interviews at Twitter:
- Why do you want to work at Twitter?
- How can you help us?
- What if you were told by the CEO of Instagram to design a ‘trending photos’ feature? How would you go about it?
- A company that you really like and want to be a PM in makes you an offer — but it’s not a PM position. You have the choice of being an engineer, a data scientist, a marketing person, or a designer. Which one would you choose? Why?
- What 3 changes would you make to Twitter?
- How would you design an iron for a blind person?
- What do you think is the most difficult responsibility this particular team has inside the company’s mission?
Looking for a different Product Manager job? We’ve got plenty more guides for top companies:
I’m Carlos González, CEO at Product School, and I enjoy sharing weekly tips for Product leaders!
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This article was also published on The Product Management Blog.
