I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Lyft (San Francisco, CA) in Mar 2019
Interview
- 1st Round: Phone screen by recruiter
- 2nd Round: 2 onsite interviews w/ Product Managers
- 3rd Round: 3-4 onsite interviews
I applied via Lyft's website and got a call from a recruiter within a week. Had a short screening call with recruiter about PM background and why Lyft. An onsite was scheduled within a couple of weeks and the recruiter held a prep call to describe the process and how to prep.
Onsite:
- 1) About 45 mins Analytical Case interview. The interview presented the problem and asked to work through it.
- 2.) Another 45 mins Product Design interview. Was presented with a question to design Lyft for a new segment.
Questions were pretty easy. But both interviewers were looking for the exact answer to their case questions. They were fresh out of school and did not understand that these interviews measure the thought process of a candidate vs. if they get the answer written on paper. I have over 12+ years of PM experience, which did not matter for the Lyft interviews. All the interviewers were concerned about was whether I get to the same answer they were given on the paper in front of them.
My advice to anyone interviewing at Lyft is: get yourself a PM book from Amazon and learn the step by step process in books and maybe you'll get the same answer as the Lyft interviewers are looking for. If are an experienced PM, don't waste your time here because you will not be able to use your experience or brain. The interviewers just want to see if you can think inside their tiny 2x2 box.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. ____ metrics are down. How would you go about determining the root cause?
2. Design Lyft for _____ user type.
the interview process was multiple steps: recruiter screen, hiring manager, round 1 product sense / execution, then round 2 leadership. there are a lot of prep materials provided which made the process much better and smoother
Recruiter screen, then 45 min product sense, 45 min execution - repeat these rounds 2 times, then hiring manager screen, then offer. All remote interviews. Recruiter stays in touch throughout. Overall smooth process.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Lyft (Montreal, QC) in Sept 2025
Interview
Rounds: 1) Recruiter 2) Hiring manager 3) Product Sense 4) Product execution 5) Cross-functional partnership 6) Leadership
Recruiter was extremely personable and was good at marketing the company and its values. Same with the hiring manager. For the PMs or TPMs interviewing you, it's a bit of a gamble as to whether they'll be there to scrutinize you or to have a back-and-forth. They do read off a script to ensure they cover their bases, but some interviewers will facilitate and have better conversations while others are really examining you and not helping you. It's a bit unfortunate as we'd expect PMs to challenge each other and confirm/deny assumptions.
The process took 3 weeks. The recruiter provides documentation on how the interviews are conducted, with tips and documentation. They request the behavioural and technical interviews to be ideally condensed within a single meeting of 3 hours, which is exhausting. Intense process resembling FAANG's process considering the size of the company.
Interview questions [4]
Question 1
During execution interview: Design a metrics dashboard for Spotify
During product sense interview: You're a PM for bikesharing. The company owns dockless bikes. We notice a high number of improperly parked bikes. Resolve the challenge.
