Naming a Skill You Are Actively Improving: Evidence, Actions and Progress
Quick Overview
A behavioral product manager interview question asking the candidate to name one skill or habit they are actively working to improve right now. It tests self-awareness, honesty about a genuine gap, how feedback is turned into concrete action, and whether the candidate can show real progress.
Naming a Skill You Are Actively Improving: Evidence, Actions and Progress
Company: Shopify
Role: Product Manager
Category: Behavioral & Leadership
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Pick one thing about the way you work that you are actively trying to get better at right now. What is it, how did you realize it mattered, and what are you doing about it?
```hint Real, current and moving
Choose a gap that genuinely affects your work as a product manager, then be ready to show where you learned about it and what has changed since you started working on it.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- Should the area be a skill specific to product management, or can it be broader, such as presenting to large groups?
- Do you want something I am still working on today, or is one I have mostly closed acceptable?
- Would you prefer one area in depth, or a short list of a few?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A genuine, role-relevant development area rather than a strength dressed up as a weakness
- How the candidate discovered the gap: specific feedback, a missed outcome or a pattern they noticed
- Concrete, ongoing actions backed by a mechanism that makes the change stick
- Evidence of progress so far and an honest account of what is still unfinished
- Awareness of how the gap affects the team and the merchants or other users the product serves, and how that impact is managed meanwhile
### Follow-up Questions
- How would your current manager or engineering lead describe this gap in their own words?
- What is one specific thing you now do differently because of this work?
- How will you know you have improved enough to move on to a different area?
Overview: A behavioral product manager interview question asking the candidate to name one skill or habit they are actively working to improve right now. It tests self-awareness, honesty about a genuine gap, how feedback is turned into concrete action, and whether the candidate can show real progress.
Naming a Skill You Are Actively Improving: Evidence, Actions and Progress
Shopify
Dec 14, 2024
mediumProduct ManagerOtherBehavioral & Leadership
0
0
Pick one thing about the way you work that you are actively trying to get better at right now. What is it, how did you realize it mattered, and what are you doing about it?
Clarifying Questions Guidance
Should the area be a skill specific to product management, or can it be broader, such as presenting to large groups?
Do you want something I am still working on today, or is one I have mostly closed acceptable?
Would you prefer one area in depth, or a short list of a few?
What a Strong Answer Covers Guidance
A genuine, role-relevant development area rather than a strength dressed up as a weakness
How the candidate discovered the gap: specific feedback, a missed outcome or a pattern they noticed
Concrete, ongoing actions backed by a mechanism that makes the change stick
Evidence of progress so far and an honest account of what is still unfinished
Awareness of how the gap affects the team and the merchants or other users the product serves, and how that impact is managed meanwhile
Follow-up Questions Guidance
How would your current manager or engineering lead describe this gap in their own words?
What is one specific thing you now do differently because of this work?
How will you know you have improved enough to move on to a different area?