How Product Management Happens at MEESHO | Culture, Empathy, Mantras & Interview Questions

Meesho is among India’s hottest e-commerce companies.

The company has made a significant leap in a short period of time, from being a reseller platform to becoming New India’s preferred shopping destination

If you are someone looking to get into a product role at Meesho and want to learn about their product culture, practices, and how to prepare well for your interviews and career at Meesho, this conversation would be helpful for you.

Today, we’re diving deep into Meesho’s product culture and hiring process.

I recently had the chance to chat with Gagan Mahajan, Director of Product Management at Meesho.

Gagan is also one of the mentors at HelloPM and gives back to the product community by taking practical sessions on strategic communication, roadmapping, and delivery.

Here is the video of the conversation, I have also put a summary of the conversation in the article below.

If you want Meesho to be your next career destination, than grab some coffee and listen to this conversation. (All resources are mentioned at the bottom of the article).

Why Meesho is Hiring Product Managers

Meesho is on a mission to democratize e-commerce for everyone in India.

They’re not just looking for product managers.

They’re searching for exceptional talent to drive key strategic initiatives.

What kind of initiatives, you ask?

Gagan highlighted a few:

1. Innovative pricing strategies
2. Expanding their own supply chain network (Valmo)
3. Leveraging AI and ML to enhance user experience

The goal?

To put their best foot forward for the next three to five years.

What Meesho Looks for in Product Managers

Now, here’s the juicy part.

What traits does Meesho value in their product managers?

Gagan broke it down into three key areas:

1. Extreme Ownership: Can you take 100% autonomy and accountability for your goals?
2. Problem-First and User-First Mindset: Do you jump to solutions, or do you take the time to understand user problems?
3. Communication and Influence: Can you effectively communicate with and influence talented people?

But that’s not all.

Meesho also looks for candidates who are:

• Mission-aligned with democratizing internet commerce
• Able to bring structure to chaos
• Skilled at structured problem-solving

Meesho’s 11 mantras for building products for the next billion users 👇🏽

How to Stand Out in Your Application

Got your eye on a product role at Meesho?

Here’s how to make your application shine:

1. Show Your Problem-Solving Skills: Take a Meesho problem, apply your lens, and send in a case study.
2. Demonstrate Hustle: Highlight experiences that show you can navigate challenges and get things done.
3. Showcase Innovative Work: Don’t just talk about standard projects. What have you done that’s truly different?
4. Highlight Relevant Experience: For a PM2 role, aim for at least two years of independent product management experience.

The Interview Process at Meesho

So, you’ve caught their attention.

What’s next?

Gagan outlined the typical interview process for PM2 and above roles:

1. Hiring Manager Round: A screening and exploratory discussion to assess culture fit and values alignment.
2. Problem-Solving Round: Think on your feet and showcase your analytical skills.
3. Assignment Round: Dive deep into a problem and present your solution.
4. CPO Round: Another chance to demonstrate culture fit and problem-solving abilities.
5. Additional Rounds: For senior roles, you might meet with the CEO or business leaders.

What kind of questions can you expect?

Gagan shared a couple of examples:

• “If you’re an entrepreneur in residence at Google India, what big bet would you recommend they build next for India?”
• “How would you build a search product for India, considering most users don’t search via text?”

AI at Meesho: The Next Frontier

Curious about how Meesho is leveraging AI?

Gagan shared some exciting initiatives:

• Using GenAI to understand natural language queries in search
• Implementing deep neural networks for ranking and recommendation models
• Empowering customer support with AI
• Exploring voice-based AI support

Tips for Aspiring Product Managers

Dreaming of a career in product management?

Here’s Gagan’s advice:

1. Understand Your Why: Why do you want to be a product manager?
2. Build User Empathy: Learn how to talk to users and derive insights.
3. Develop Communication Skills: Practice public speaking and giving presentations.
4. Hone Your Problem-Solving Skills: Analyze existing products and think about how to improve them.
5. Consider an APM Role or Internship: It’s a great way to build a strong foundation.

Moving Up the Ladder: From SPM to Director

Want to climb the product management ranks?

Gagan identified three key areas for growth:

1. Communication and Influence: Learn to tailor your message to different audiences.
2. People Leadership and Hiring: Develop systems to help your team grow and find the right talent.
3. Strategic Thinking: Look beyond individual problems to find company-wide opportunities.

Remember, these skills take time to develop.

Be patient and persistent in your growth journey.

Are you ready to take on the challenge of building products for the next billion users?

Meesho might just be the place for you.

Here are the essential resources you should go through if you are interested in a product role at Meesho:

1. Meesho Job Board | Jobs from Meesho on Linkedin
2. Meesho’s 11 mantras for building products
3. How Meesho decides what to build
4. Meesho has an employee referral program, you can reach out to the list of people here for referrals.
5. Improve your structured thinking with these decision-making tools.
6. The ultimate resources to prepare for Product Management Interviews
7. How to create a product portfolio
8. Recommended books for PMs
9. Curated Interview questions from Meesho and other companies.
10. The ultimate guide to AI product management.

Good luck with your application!